


Anything You Want

by PlaguedParadox



Series: Ego Demonverse [2]
Category: markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Succubi & Incubi, Demons, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied Sexual Content, Manipulation, Manipulative Relationship, Mild Gore, Mild Sexual Content, Mind Reading, Minor Character Death, Obsession, Reader-Insert, Roommates, Roommates to lovers, Yandere, eventual angst, incubus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-05-31 01:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15108815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlaguedParadox/pseuds/PlaguedParadox
Summary: Dark has been living with the reader for almost a year, silently giving them anything they want but things start to go wrong as the reader starts to try and date other people.Dark doesn't do well with people trying to take what's his.





	1. The Roommate

**“I could give you anything!”**

 

Those familiar words echoed out in my mind as I tried to pull at the things holding me back, my mind swimming far too much for me to even concentrate. The smell of damp keeping me aware that I was still in the same place as I had been for a small while now. Trapped by something out of my control.  _ How did I get here again?  _ My thoughts asked.  _ I should’ve just listened. _ Exhaustion muddied my mind more as I began to recall what had happened. 

I was content with life, I had a steady job, decent coworkers for the most part and had constant company thanks to a certain someone - My roommate. My roommate had been living with me for about a year now and was a decent man most of the time when he wasn’t giving off an air of hostility and looking like he was a moment away from stabbing someone but apart from that he was nice enough, he helped pay the rent almost effortlessly every time that rent was due, he helped keep the place clean and he kept the place stocked with supplies. But living with him made me uncomfortable, there was just something about him that weirded me out as if a darkness hung over him and it didn’t help that he seemed to stay within the shadows as much as possible to watch me - not that I ever said anything, I was too unnerved to.

Much like what was happening now, I sat on the place of the sofa I had long claimed as mine when I had initially moved in but I wasn’t at all relaxed like I should have been. My eyes drifted from the television as I played an old Mario game and over to the man sitting in his chair that was in the corner of the room, the one spot where light never seemed to reach.  _ Ugh, he’s staring at me again. _ My thoughts huffed out as I tried to go back to playing the game only for my attention to land once again on my roommate who had apparently gone back to his reading. He always seemed to be able to read my mind and then act on it. My thoughts complain about a lack of a specific product that I like while most people wouldn’t notice or care about? Bam! That product is now plentiful in the apartment. I think about decorating the apartment at any point? It’s redecorated the exact way I had thought about doing it the next day. He claims it’s just a coincidence but things like that happen a lot more often than just those two examples and it was freaking me out the more and more it happened. 

About an hour ago I let out a victorious cry as I finish the level before placing the controller down and reaching for my phone as I planned to call the local pizza place, only to hear my roommate ordering what seemed to be my favourite kind of pizza and only that. I hummed to myself before thinking that a soft drink would go well with that, preparing to still call the pizza place before I heard him quickly ask whoever he was calling about if he could order a drink. I felt my eye twitch in annoyance as I listened to his order, not feeling at all bad considering how often he would just stare at me and listen to my phone calls. And now here we were as I worked on beating another level as the pizza guy took forever to arrive.  _ How long does it take to make and deliver a pizza to a place that’s just down the street? _ My thoughts complained as my stomach started to growl more violently than it had been throughout the past hour. 

A sigh from him drew my attention over. “This is taking too long. I’ll be right back.” His voice seemed to growl as he stood up and waltzed out of the apartment only to come back about five minutes later with the pizza and drink that seemed to have come from the pizza place. “The idiot didn’t recall the apartment number and was about to eat our stuff himself.” He gruffed out before placing the large bottle and pizza box on the coffee table in front of me. I was quick to open the box and take a barely warm slice of the pizza, not really caring about the heat of the meal as I was so hungry. Of course, pizza is just pizza but if you haven’t eaten all day thanks to work and an addiction to gaming then any food tastes just about heavenly once you begin eating it so as I took the first bite a satisfied moan left my lips. A low chuckle sounded out from the man who now sat beside me, my eyes fell on him as I squinted up at him, mentally questioning the man as I did. His cheeks had a slightly pink tint as took a slice for himself, his body strangely close to mine considering he spent most of his time in the chair in the corner of the apartment. 

“Hey, D?” I ask softly, having finished my last slice and leaving the last one for him. I didn’t know his full name, he just told me to call him by the initial if I was to call him something. I wait for him to reply with a small hum before continuing with what I wanted to say. “Why did you choose to live with me? You seem to have plenty of money so I don’t get why you chose to share a place with an office worker that can barely keep the rent up herself…” I ask, mumbling near the end as I put myself down which was rather typical considering my dull lifestyle as my only fun outlet was gaming. D was the only person outside of coworkers I spoke to as well, most of my friends being online so I couldn’t just go hang out with them.

D looked off to the side for a moment before pulling his almost pure black eyes over to me. “I chose you because you needed me. And I didn’t need nor want a fancy apartment, despite my liking for more pricey items, an expensive place to live isn’t very practical. Plus it doesn’t help that I- ...Nevermind.” Was his rather confusing response. I didn’t need him as far as I could tell as he and I barely interacted as it was so it wasn’t as if him leaving would affect me mentally, he just made life more convenient for me. I hummed in thought for a moment before bidding the man goodnight and heading off to one of the few places where I felt like I had privacy - my room. My room was strangely the fanciest place in the apartment, not by my choice though as I walked in one day to find it like it was decorated as if royalty was living there, which was shortly after D had moved in. I flopped onto the bed, not really caring that I was had been wearing baggy sweatpants and a hoodie all day.  _ Work tomorrow, hope it goes well. _ My thoughts pray tiredly as I wrap my lightweight blanket around me, not needing much in the terms of insulation thanks to the thick clothes. 

I went to work the next morning feeling as if I hadn’t slept and hating having to walk all the way there which was normal as I was outrageously tired and didn’t own a car. I hear the padding of paws on the ground behind me but I don’t turn around, I was well aware that a dog had taken to following me to and from work, it had been for months now but I wasn’t going to take it in just in case it was owned - locally owned dogs had a habit of walking around the area and no one seemed to panic about it so I followed their lead.

It wasn’t long before I was at the office building and sitting in my cubicle typing away in the mind-numbing way I was used to, the only upside of this job were some of my coworkers. Nate, Thomas and Tyler. Nate, Thomas and Tyler were more enthused about the job than I so no one anticipated us hanging out at all, being from different departments didn’t help, but we always met up in the park nearby for our lunch break, Nate and Thomas often breaking into song while Tyler and I just spoke. Thomas was the poor, unfortunate soul stuck in the same department as me, us only meeting thanks to the fact our cubicles were right next to each other. “Another day, another pile of paperwork…” I groan out as I glare at the mountain of paperwork someone had plopped onto my desk without me noticing. I had a good idea about who it was though. Thomas was busy typing away, whistling to himself to pass the time and to help block out the monotonous sound of keyboards clacking away. “Hey Sanders, any idea who placed this lot here?” I ask him, my gaze still firmly on the papers.

The whistling stopped, alerting me to the fact he heard me before a hum sounded out. “Um… I think it was Mimi. I saw her walking by but I wasn’t really paying attention.” He muttered before wheeling his chair over and flicking through the pile. “Yep, this is Mimi’s work alright. I saw her working on this yesterday as I was walking to the kitchen.” He answered before rolling back other to his desk and returning to typing away on the clunky office keyboard. Another groan left my lips as I thought of Mimi Sanchez, the ‘queen bee’ of the office, it was people like her that made it feel as if high school never ended as she held an obnoxious ranking system over people based on things that were nonsensical to me and it wasn’t as if she was a higher up, she did the same work as the rest of us sitting in these cubicles. All she got was a higher pay due to her rather obvious relationship with the department manager.

I sigh silently before sifting through the work, sorting it into categories and checking for any errors as I went. Mimi typically used me to ‘proofread’ her work which was annoying but as long as I did it she didn’t have room to complain. Soon enough the work day was over and I was biding my coworkers goodnight and starting my journey home. Their wishes of me to keep safe echoed through my mind as I climbed onto the bus as I felt far too exhausted with life to walk back.  _ I wonder why D never asks me to stay safe…  _ My thoughts murmured as I watched the buildings pass by as I waited for the bus to reach my stop. Once I was home I was quick to hang up my coat and rushed into the kitchen to try and start dinner, a routine just as familiar as waking up in the morning. D didn’t usually show his face until dinner was over, always claiming he was busy with something which was disappointing to hear.  _ It may seem selfish but I would at least like someone to talk to during this time of the day. _

“How was work?” His deep voice sounded out from behind me making me jump and turn around quickly to face him, his arms were crossed firmly behind his back in his usual standing pose. I mutter that work was fine, rather unsure what to say considering he had broken a routine that had been going on for almost as long as he lived here.  _ He’s usually busy during this time. _ I turn back to what I was doing, trying not to think about how weirded out I was that he suddenly appeared as soon as I wanted company. “Things with work got wrapped up faster than usual so we have some extra time together.” D practically purred out as he leaned against the counter I was using as I started to chop away at some vegetables.

D’s voice usually had what seemed to be a purr in it when he spoke to me, something I learned to ignore within months of knowing him. He wasn’t a flirt as far as I could tell and he never brought anyone home so I just chalked it down to him just talking in a weird way as he also seemed to emphasise a lot of words. Personally, I adored the way he spoke as it was calming and familiar and it meant that I was safe because I was home. “Well, it’s nice that to hear!” I chirp out absentmindedly as I continued to chop away, trying to be careful not to cut myself on the knife. A yelp left my lips and suddenly my hand was wrapped up in a damp cloth and larger hands surrounding it as I was lead out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. D was quick to get the first aid kit and patch me up. “Thanks, D…” I mutter, feeling rather embarrassed that I had gotten hurt in such a silly manner. 

My eyes flutter shut so I don’t have to look at him, his eyes were always rather intense when he focused on something. “It’s not too deep so it won’t be much of a problem to fix.” An odd pressure was pressed against my finger and then my cheek before I felt a band-aid being wrapped around my wound. My eyes opened slightly to see my roommate staring back at me, making me feel more and more uncomfortable as time slipped by. I mutter that dinner needs to be made and shift awkwardly away from the man before sprinting back into the kitchen and continuing what I was originally working on. 

Dinner was more awkward than him helping me and the small time after dinner was more awkward than that. I sigh and shift slightly in my seat as I tried to focus on the game playing out on the TV and the controller buzzing in my hand as my character got hit. D was once again in his seat in the corner of the room, seemingly using this time to try and complete another chapter of his book but I could feel his stare burning into the side of my face as I played my game. 

I was used to my days playing out so similarly, I wake up, get washed, get dressed, then I make breakfast for both D and I before run off to work, I hang out with Thomas, Tyler and Nate while at work, I then head home and prepare dinner all alone, have dinner with D, have a few hours to do whatever I want before I tell D goodnight before running off and collapsing on my bed, and then it repeats and repeats so when something new happens I was a bit thrown off. Then again, D always did something to throw me off, like the day he decided to redecorate the entire apartment without me knowing, took him long enough to apologise for it. I sighed as I laid on my bed, my gaze on the ceiling as I felt the temperature of the room cool down and allowed the strings of sleep to pull me into the web of unconsciousness.

The next morning I expected things to slip back into the routine but D being unpredictable made sure to change the routine once more. I had just finished my breakfast and was busy putting things away in my bag before slipping it around my shoulder. I was just about to leave when I heard his voice purr out: “Be careful on your way to work, dear~” Which caused me to turn, just for peace of mind in case he was speaking over the phone only to see him leaning against the wall and smiling at me with no phone in sight. I squeak out a small thank you before rushing out the door and towards the office building that I called work.

At work, I was back to clicking away at my keyboard in my cubicle, Tyler standing next to me as he watched me work. “What’s up, Friendly Giant?” My nickname for him flew off of my lips in the usual way as I continued to focus on my work. Which was nothing much as I always made sure I didn’t fall behind unlike the woman who often called upon me to do her work for her.

“Oh, nothing much, Smalls, it’s just that the new guy from my department had apparently been coming in here to get a look at you.” Tyler teased, ruffling my hair slightly. He was all for me finding a partner, so as soon as someone showed interest he made sure to encourage them but because of his gung-ho attitude, it usually drove my potential partners away. The tall man was an angel but it was just too much at times. Let’s just say that there’s a reason I haven’t told him about D. “This might be the lucky fella!” He chuckled out before pulling me to meet the stranger who just walked into the office space from a different part of the building. “Smalls, meet… Zackary! Zack, this is my best friend who I’ve been telling you about.” Tyler threw a wink my way before excusing himself.

I cleared my throat awkwardly before saying a hello to the rather attractive man, something in me wanted to make a good impression but a deeper part of me began to panic about what Tyler had said to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I practically melted as I heard his voice. I nervously repeat the phrase before I hear Mimi shriek out that she needed me. _ Ugh, I hate that woman. I wish she’d just disappear.  _ I turn to him but before I can get a word out he says: “It’s okay, I understand. I’ll see you during lunch, for coffee?” I nod quickly, give him a small smile before rushing back to my desk and beginning to help the woman who was somehow tone deaf even without singing. A small pat on my back caught my attention and I pulled my head up to look at Thomas who gave me a thumbs up before turning to watch Zack head back into the part of the building he worked in.

Lunch came quickly, or at least it seemed but it could have just been my excitement, and my group were at the usual picnic table, chatting happily to each other while we waited for Zack to show up. Tyler let us know ahead of time that the newbie was going to be held up a small while so we didn’t worry. So I didn’t worry. “Did you hear about Mimi? I heard that she really sick and had to be hospitalised not even an hour ago!” I heard a group of women gossip from the next table over. They soon went on to theorise that happened but I zoned out of that conversation after someone else confirmed that Mimi was sick. About ten minutes went by before Zack decided to make himself known. We all said our hellos to him before he took my hand and gently dragged me away from the group so we could go for that coffee that was mentioned. We talked as we walked and Zack proved that he wasn’t just attractive in the looks department but also in personality. Every now and again he would say something that made my cheeks turn scarlet but I brushed it off for the most part. He already had Tyler being overly giddy about the possible relationship, I didn’t want to add to that.

We met up again shortly after work and continued any conversation that us heading back to work after lunch interrupted. But the sweet sentences of his was overridden by the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. When Zack wasn’t paying attention I’d do a quick sweep of the area and try to spot if someone was, in fact, watching us and prove that I wasn’t just being paranoid. “This has been wonderful, I hope that we can do this again sometime.” His voice chirps out, his arm slowly curling around my waist and pulling me into a hug. “I’m glad Tyler introduced us~” Zack’s voice purred as our foreheads touched. I wasn’t sure why but I didn’t really like his purr despite liking the lack of distance,  it was safe to say that I had a crush on the guy. 

“I’m glad too.” I give him a small smile before I feel myself get pulled back into a hard object. Confused, I turn to look and notice D glaring over at my new crush. “Oh hey D, this is Zack. He’s a new coworker.” I say softly, trying to diffuse the tension in the air. D grunts slightly as if he really didn’t care about who Zack was, and that was very possible. He didn’t really care when I introduced him to Thomas or Nate either.  _ I’ve never seen him this angry… _ My thoughts hushed out as I tried to move away from D’s iron grip only to stop as soon as I heard him growl under his breath.  

D cleared his throat before moving me behind him and closing the distance between him and the other man. “So, you think you can flirt with my dear…?” He asked rather calmly, the purr missing from his voice. A small gulp left Zack as D’s cold anger swept across the area, making him seem far more threatening than he was being in that moment. “Coworker or not, you have no right to her. Understood?” The venom in his words were practically dripping as his hand slowly curled around Zack’s collar and lifted him up slightly. “There will be no second warnings.” More of a promise than a threat considering the tone, and it made me flinch slightly. I knew that D liked things to go a certain way but to downright threaten someone is something I didn’t think he was capable of. 

I make a small sound of protest before his cold, harsh eyes were trained on me. “D, come on…” I mutter softly, pulling his free hand over to me and making him move away from the other man. “Let’s just go upstairs, I need to prepare dinner…” I say as I gesture to the building’s main doors, hoping that the promise of food will pull his attention away from the anger filled scenario that just played out. The man regarded me gently for a second before shaking his head and glaring at Zack, only for his head to zip back over to me after a small tug on his arm. D huffed out a small ‘fine’ before allowing me to pull him into the building. “Today was fun, Zack! I’ll see you tomorrow!” I call out, beaming at my coworker before focusing on getting my roommate upstairs.  

Once we were back into our apartment, the tension grew again. “I don’t like him.” Said my roommate as he stormed into the kitchen and began to work on the job I usually did. I opened my mouth to question his actions but he cut me off. “I’m making dinner to apologize for my actions, I should have warned you ages ago that my anger is nothing to sneeze at and I tend to be… reactionary. I felt as if he got far too close and I got worried for your safety. You two haven’t even gone on a date yet and he was pulling moves on you. I had to say something.” He explained as he pulled things out of the freezer and read through it. D’s eyebrows narrowed as if he was thinking before looking over his shoulder at me, his hair falling over his left eye rather gracefully. “This won’t be a good enough apology in my book, so, on Friday after work… I’d like to take you out to dinner.” Was all he said before he turned back and took the item of food out of the packaging. 

It was a shock to the system to hear those words so I was frozen for a small bit, trying to process what he said. “Wait. What.” A small brain fart before I finally caught up. “You mean like a date?” I asked as I went to stand next to him, placing some of the chosen food on the right trays. My gaze flicked up and over to him, my eyes just about registering his darkening cheeks even if it was only slight. D cleared his throat before taking some of the trays away from me. 

 

“Only if you want it to be.”


	2. The Date

The weekend was just a stone’s throw away, as it was Friday, and it had been a good few days since D threatened Zack, but it didn’t stop the newbie coming over and flirting with me which I was happy about. “So… What’s going on between you and Zack? Oh, something’s happening, please tell me something is happening.” Thomas squealed happily as we walked over to our desks shortly after finishing lunch which was filled with nothing but songs and flirting. My coworker’s arms were pressed up against his cheeks as he grinned wildly at me, his position raised up his shirt so I could just about see the red of the Steven Universe top that hid underneath. I secretly gestured towards it, knowing full well the manager didn’t like us wearing any show or movie merchandise to work, even if it was under a shirt which hid it. “Oh, thanks.” He said, quickly dropping his arms as we walked past the manager’s office. I give him a quick ‘You’re welcome’ before sitting down on my desk chair, I gaze around my desk to find it surprisingly free of any new piles of paperwork. “Guess Mimi is still MIA…” Muttered my friend before he turned to continue his work. 

It wasn’t long before the ever flirtatious Zack made his way back into the office space, having the excuse of being in the IT department at hand if anyone were to ask him why he was here. “Hey there, beautiful.” He addressed me as his arms crossed over the top of the cubicle wall as he smiled down at me. I return the hello before starting to continue my work from earlier in the day. “So, I heard that there was a carnival going on nearby, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go after work with me. It’s on its last day, mind you.” He shrugged before continuing to lean on his arms, a content smile on his face. 

I perked up at the sound of the carnival, I loved carnivals just as much as I love gaming but that’s simply because it was a place that allowed for childish behaviour. A grin crossed my face as I thought about the possible date before a thought came to me.  _ What about dinner with D? _ “Um, sorry, I have a thing with my roommate planned.” His face dropped at that before he started sprouting apologies, before trying to think of something else for us to do together.  _ Ugh, he looks like a sad puppy…  _ “Listen, I can convince D to take me to dinner tomorrow if this carnival date means so much to you,” I say cautiously, leaning closer to him with a gentle smile on my face. “Okay?” His face lit up at that and he quickly let me know where it was and when he’d meet me there before he had to leave the office space. 

A groan left my lips before I slid down further into my chair, my hands running down my face as I thought about what I had just done. I quickly pulled my phone out and began texting D, I needed to let him know that I wanted to change our plans.

 

**You:** Heya D. 

**You:** I was wondering if we could change our plans? Something came up.

**D-Man:** Something came up? That’s rather unusual for you. I suppose I could always change the reservation for tomorrow. 

**D-Man:** Before you say anything, it’s really not a problem.

 

I let out a sigh of relief and thank him for being so understanding about the matter, even if I didn’t actually tell him why I wanted to change plans. I felt rather bad considering D really did want to apologise and I just told him to postpone his apology until it suited me but the more sociable part of me summed up my logic as he’s our roommate and can take us to dinner at any time. The carnival isn’t as frequent as he is in my life. So, needless to say, that going on a carnival date with Zack won.  My thoughts going over my thought process were broken by a small blip sound from my phone alerting me to the fact that someone had texted me.

 

**D-Man:** Good luck with that “Date”.

 

I froze slightly, silently freaking out at the fact he knew why I had wanted the rescheduling.  _ Was it that obvious or… _ I cut off my thoughts, not wanting to consider the man I live with being a huge creep to the point he stalked me. My face scrunched up slightly at what the tone of the text could be, as it couldn’t be anything positive. I sighed and just locked my phone. D and I could talk once I got back, and hopefully nothing bad could come from it, he and I didn’t fight so I didn’t want our first to be over the fact I finally landed a date. “Earth to Shorty, you okay?” Nate’s voice broke through my thoughts and pulled me back to Earth. He sighs in relief before letting me know that he managed to convince the managers to let Zack and I off early, one thing that only Nate could do considering he was above them in the corporate food chain. “Go have fun, you need it.” Thomas lets out a sound of agreement before they both grab me and push me towards the entrance where my date waited for me.

It would be a lie to say that the beginning of the date wasn’t awkward as hell, sure Zack would always flirt with me but flirting during work and flirting on a date were surprisingly two very different things. Not to mention the feeling of being watched hung over our heads heavily, not that Zack really noticed much like he didn’t notice last time. Soon we found the flow of the date and really began to enjoy ourselves, starting with playing at random carnie games, winning random prizes and eventually made our way to the rides that were put up, deciding to leave the house of horrors until last. 

With each new game and ride, we grew closer and closer, both physically and how well we knew each other.  _ Looks like this won’t remain just a crush for long. _ My thoughts sounded out, rather dreamingly as my face flushed at Zack holding my hand and pulling me closer to him. “I’m really glad that you said yes.” I let him know that I was glad too before kissing his cheek to emphasise my words causing a grin to break out on his face and a scarlet blush to coat his cheeks. Kind words and blushes continued for a small period of time before we decided to get something to eat.

“I really don’t trust that thing.” Zack murmured as we watched one of the rides that made the riders fly up and down, my stomach churned slightly at the thought of being on the thing as we had just finished eating. I could handle a spinning ride but not that. “Let’s skip that one, yeah?” He asked, his head barely turning to look at me as his face paled while watching the ride that most likely churned his stomach as well. I let him know that I agreed and pulled him away from the ride and sat down at a table with our prizes in a plastic bad by our feet while we waited for our stomachs to settle and for our dinner to at least digest a little so it wasn’t so quick to come back up. 

Eventually, we agreed to head to the house of horrors that the carnival had only to find out that it was the kind that you could walk around in rather than simply ride a track through but that didn’t bother us as it just meant we could take our time to enjoy the attraction as we walked hand in hand. We paid the small admission fee before made our way inside. “I love these kinds of things!” I exclaimed as the pair of us jumped and giggled quietly at the actors’ attempts to try and scare us. Eventually, we got to a part of the building that warned about flashing lights, which I appreciated as I kept my head down as we walked through the room, lights flashing on and off which plunged us into dark and light rapidly as if the lights were freaking out. A weird static sound filled the room and my hands clasped around my ears to protect them from the sound, forcing me to let go of Zack and essentially become alone in the room. 

I could just about hear a frantic voice sound out but the harsh static and the muffling caused by my hands over my ears drowned out anything that could identify it. That’s when I felt something beckon me as if a force grabbed my hand and was trying to guide me towards a direction but at this point, I didn’t know where the entrance or exit to the flashing room was. I just wanted out. So, I followed the feeling, and then a voice grew louder and louder to the point I could tell someone was beside me, calling my name. Soon my hands were ripped away from my ears and my attention was pulled up to the man in front of me. “D?!” 

“About time you noticed that I had pulled you out of there. What were you doing in a house of horrors all by yourself?” My roommate asked before looking behind me as if he was trying to see if anyone would follow us out. “Where’s that Zack guy you’re meant to be on a date with?” He asked carefully as if trying to break some bad news to me. I look back at the flashing room to see that it was pitch black and no sound apart from our breathing and the distant sound of other parts of the carnival. “It seems he abandoned you…” D growled out and pulled me into his chest. My heart ached slightly at the thought of a guy I was really beginning to like just leaving me like that. D quickly mutters that we should go home before escorting me to the exit of the attraction. 

Just as we were leaving I mention that I wanted to talk to the operator before we went and handed him the bag filled with prizes and rush over to the front of the building and over to the operator. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I think that the flashing room is broken. Also if you see the man that went in with me, let him know that I never want to see him again. Thanks!” I finish with a smile and begin to make my way back to D only to just hear the man say: “But we don’t have a flashing room!” which caused me to freeze and look back at the man who had gone inside to most likely see what I was going on about. I shrug it off and continue back over to D. “And to think, I was starting to believe that a guy might actually like me.” I huff out as I curl up slightly in the passenger seat of D’s rather expensive black Merc. A small growl from D let me know he heard me but I couldn’t really tell what it meant. I could only guess that he was just happy to of found me before some creep did.

“And to think, I was only there because my friend invited me, unbelievable,” D grumbled as he pulled out of the parking area and started to drive us back home. I apologise for being a bother before enquiring about his friend. “Don’t apologise, I noticed you and him take too long to come back out and got worried… And my friend… He was the one running the carnival.” He explained vaguely but kept his focus on the road. I sigh and curl up more on the seat, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up with me. “Get some sleep, we’ll be home soon.” I nod in reply to his words and let my eyes close and the sandman lures me to sleep.

When I woke up again I was on my bed and the sweet aroma of pancakes and flowers filled the air. I sat up to see a bouquet of roses and a tray of food and juice placed on the bottom of the bed. A small smile curled at my lips as I pulled the tray closer, looking at the stack of pancakes that had a knob of butter and a good amount of syrup drizzled over it, next to it was a glass of orange juice, some toast and oddly a note under the plate. Confused, I took the note out and decided to read it as I began to eat some toast to settle my growling stomach.

 

_ Hello Darling, _

_ I hope you enjoy your breakfast or enjoyed it depending on when you read this note. It took me a small while to get the pancakes just right but that might just be because I’m out of practice. You spoil me, it seems. _

_ I truly am sorry for how that man treated you, that he abandoned you. I promise. I promise you that I will always be there for you, that I will always do anything for you, that I will always be someone you can depend on. I will never let another person hurt you. I will do anything in order to prove that. _

_ Enough talk of that nature, for now, enjoy the day because I’m going to pamper you. Don’t forget we have our dinner later today, I have a dress already picked out for you. I hope you like it. _

_ D. _

 

My once gentle smile was now a full-on grin. D could certainly pull out all the stops if he wanted to, he was wealthy enough but to be honest, I was just happy to spend some actual time with the man and get to know him better. My thoughts pull back on what the man had told me, that I could consider it a date if I wanted to and suddenly my cheeks were aflame with a bright scarlet flush. The question was, could I consider it a date? I wasn’t sure at that point but I was going to take his advice and enjoy the day. 

I was quick to finish off the food and place the bouquet in a vase before rushing into the front room to see D setting up a new game console. “What’s this, D?” I ask, sitting down on the couch behind the crouched man, trying to keep my eyes from wandering around the man’s form as his clothes had a tendency to seem almost skin tight. Even his shirt and dress pants seem to hug his body perfectly. Another blush rose to my cheeks as I felt like I was perving on the man who was just minding his own business.

“Just setting up that console you’ve been wanting for a while, I remembered you mentioning it during your last large gaming session so I thought I’d treat you.” He said, barely turning from his work setting the console up. I let out a happy squeal and leap forward, pulling the man into a hug and thanking him repeatedly. D let a chuckle that seemed to be rather filled with warmth, and even a bit childish and pat my back as he returned the hug. “Hey now, I need to finish setting the thing up.” His voice was filled with a warm laughter as he tried to calm me down. 

After a while, I let go of the man and sat back down on the couch as he handed me the controller. The game he had placed in the console started up and I began to play, a huge grin on my face as I did. I barely noticed the time go by before D pulled the controller gently away from me and reminded me that we had a dinner reservation. 

The dress he picked out for me was far too fancy and clearly expensive. The silk was smooth and slipped easily over itself as I held it in my hands. I was rather nervous to wear it, the dress dropped rather low on both the back and the front but was still rather modest. Swallowing my pride, I slipped the dress on, being gentle with the expensive fabric as it slid down and around my body, following it up with a pair of heels that the man had chosen and putting my hair up in a style that suited the dress. Once I was satisfied, I let out a hum of approval and made my way into the front room to see D waiting for me, his hair slicked back and the tux he wore clung to him perfectly, making my eyes wander. I shook my head and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. 

A gentle smile grew on his face once he saw me and he brushed a portion of my hair back and seemed to attach something to my hair. I gazed over to the nearby window to see that he had placed a white rose in my hair. A blush decorated my cheeks as he gently took my hand and lead me off to the black Merc and our target destination.

 

_ I might just consider this a date, after all. _


	3. The Dinner

The drive to the restaurant was a calm one, the silence was comforting instead of awkward as it had been with Zack. And the fact I knew D rather decently was a plus. D hummed along to the old song that played out of the car stereo, a small smile on his face as if he was genuinely happy with the situation and I hoped he was. I never want him to feel genuine negative emotions again, be it anger or sadness. A smile suits him a lot better than a frown. I turned my head to gaze out of the window, enjoying the view of the town zip by, flashes of colour and people enjoying their day as well as the atmosphere was peaceful. As much as I was enjoying the silence, I wanted to break it. “So… um…” I started nervously, never really knowing how to start conversations on dates or with D so I was twice as screwed. “Where are we going?” I asked cautiously, keeping my gaze pointed towards the window so I didn’t have to see his usual intense eyes on me. 

“Just a fancy little place that owed me a favour. Anything we want, they’ll make. Even if it isn’t on the menu. I’m quite proud of that little arrangement.” D explained, as he pulled up to what was in face a large fancy restaurant and not at all a small one. My mouth dropped at the sight before I realised a valet was walking up to the car.  _ You have got to be kidding me…  _ My thoughts muttered as the valet spoke to D for a moment before my roommate handed the keys to his car over and climbed out, walking gracefully as ever to my side and opening the door for me, his hand ready for me to take. “My dear~” He purred out as he took my hand and lead me inside, my arm wrapped around his, keeping me close to him as my attention was pulled away by the gorgeous decor of the building, the deep reds and golden trims were stunning and the crystal chandelier was something to behold as it reflected clear white light gently all over the room. I certainly felt out of place. This seemed as if it was something for the 1%, not for people like me. D gently tugged me over to a table for two in a more private area of the restaurant which had a rather brilliant view of the live band that was currently playing some romance-themed song, that matched the building rather well. “Do you like it?” His voice had an odd hopeful tone to it that I didn’t understand. Maybe he was just hoping that I wasn’t overwhelmed by such a place.

I give him an excited nod and continue to look around, rather amazed that I was even allowed in the building.  _ And he called this place small. _ “This place is amazing! Explains why I never knew about it.” I joke, before looking down as I try once again to avoid D’s gaze, my eyes shooting up to look at him once I hear a deep growl. D’s eyes pierce mine as he stares at me, his face twisted into a horrid snarl that makes me start to panic.  _ Does he hate me?  _ Was the main thought but it was barely there before his face shifted into a look of upset shock before it morphed into an odd neutral look that was obviously him trying to cover what he felt. I gulp slightly, suddenly the wonderful date wasn’t looking so wonderful now and it barely even started. “S-Sorry, it’s just that you fit into these kinds of places whereas I don’t. You’re a big businessman, whereas I’m a lowly office worker y’know.” I try to explain in a rush as I noticed a waiter walk over. I look up at the waiter and give him a small smile, strangely enough, he looked a lot like Tyler, except his hair was shorter and much tamer. D and I order our drinks and some entrees before falling into silence after the waiter walks away. 

“No… no, I’m sorry. I just don’t like it when you talk negatively about yourself, joking or otherwise. You’re a lot more than you realise.” D stated, sighing as he leaned forward and gave me a gentle smile. I let him know that I accept his apology before asking if I could know more about him. “More about me?” He looked shocked for a moment before looking away as if he was trying to buy some more time. “Well… there’s nothing much to talk about. I’m a businessman as you know, my best friend is a pastel idiot runs a carnival with his wife, poor lady, I love the sea and anything void-like really, I love dogs. I actually own one, she’s lovely but she’s living with my best friend as of now because our tenancy doesn’t allow animals. I like the dark, I’m actually a nyctophile. I actually really like the colours red and blue but I tend to lean closer to blue a lot, but I like them for different reasons.” He said random facts about himself dismissively so I had to clarify what I wanted to know. “My name? Oh, it’s Daemon. Daemon Morningstar. Surprised you never asked before now. My friend’s name is Wilford and his wife’s nickname is Sugar, she never really got to tell me her name because Wilford would interrupt with her nickname before she’d get the chance. Wilford and I have known each other since we were young and he knows about you. To be honest, he got concerned when he saw you at his carnival with someone that wasn’t me, that’s why I was there not that he told me until we got back home.” Daemon said, rather annoyed at essentially being lied to by his friend. “I thought he had some news for me, he’s been trying to have a child for a while now, you see.”

Things grew quiet again once our food started to arrive but it was a comfortable silence again, Daemon wasn’t a fan of trying to talk and eat at the same time so I expected him to be rather quiet. My gaze would look up to meet his every now and then, to which he’d usually send a small smile my way that would cause butterflies to flutter in my stomach. Once our entrees were done, he got talkative again. “I’m glad we’re getting to spend some time together away from home, I want us to be more comfortable with each other… I want you to be comfortable around me.” I give him a soft smile before he continued. “We’ve known each other for a while now, and we’re pretty close being roommates and all but I can’t help but want more.” He confesses, a deep blush coatings his cheeks while mine slowly darkened to match. “I’d love for us to become more intimate.” Daemon’s voice purred out as he leaned his head on his hands. “How’s your hand, anyway?” 

Those words pulled my attention to my still band-aid covered finger, I had changed the band-aid a few times but never really bothered checking to see how it was healing. “It’s fine, it’s not hurting or anything…” I answered, trying to wrap my head around what he had told me.  _ Intimate? Like sex?  _ My thoughts asked as I looked into his eyes that seemed to flash a bright red and blue before going back to black almost instantly. I blinked rapidly and looked around, trying to determine if my eyes were messing with me. I could feel his stare being to become intense again as I kept silent, I could feel my skin heat up slightly as the stare continued and I silently cursed at my body for reacting to the man in such a way. I look back up at him as I smell the scent of chocolate slowly surrounding us, assuming he had just randomly got a dessert and instead just saw him sitting there. “Anyway…” I practically coughed out, luckily disrupting his gaze so I could breathe a bit easier. “I’m glad we’re getting to spend time together as well! I’ve been wanting to get to know you better practically since we met… But I guess it’s only natural to want to get to know the person you live with.” I throw him a polite smile, showing that I was a tad annoyed that it took so long for us to get to this point, to which he chuckles and apologises for being closed off.  

The rest of the date moved pretty fast as we talked about nothing in particular, small complaints about how work was boring, what looked interesting in the new movies coming out, random things that happened in the news, things like that, and soon we found ourselves walking back to his car, laughing as he recalled a call he received from his friend who decided to tell him that he just got laid, while Daemon was trying to redecorate the apartment before I got back. “And I was like, for fuck sake Will, I don’t need to hear this, I have to redo this room and I only have 3 hours before she gets off of work! But did he listen? No, he never does. And he wonders why I don’t visit more often…” He lets out a weak laugh before collecting his car keys from the valet. “I nearly asked for his advice about how to act around you but he was… busy with something.” He muttered, opening the passenger door for me and allowing me to slip by him and into the seat.

“Sounds like an interesting friend!”I laugh out before busing myself with the seatbelt.

“Oh, he is. Interesting is about the best thing to describe him, well, other than eccentric or insane.” Daemon threw me a small smile as he dealt with his own seatbelt before he turned his attention to turning the car on, there was an odd feeling clinging to the air, much like the smell of chocolate that seemed to be following us. I turned to look out the window as the car began to move, the sky opened up, allowing rain to pour down onto the car and the area around us. The rain made the lights ahead and all around us look like they were sparkling.  _ So pretty.  _ I was so focused on the sight outside the window that I nearly missed something say: “You are.” My head snapped over to Daemon who was driving with one hand and flicking through radio channels with the other.  _ That would explain it.  _ “Oh, sorry, did you want to find a channel?” I shook my head at his question, my attention more on the soft look on his face than his actual words. 

It wasn’t long before we were climbing out of the car and stepping into the downpour. I shrieked quietly as the shock of the cold raindrops that ran down my neck, only to flinch at something being placed over my head and shoulders. “Huh…?” Looking up revealed Daemon smiling gently down at me, his jacket now missing. The rain was making his shirt cling to his body, becoming more transparent and showing off his body underneath. I moved my eyes to his face as I could feel my cheeks warm up, the rain had also messed with his hair, pulling parts of it down over his eyes, the luminescence of the street lights making his eyes shine. My eyes couldn’t help but fall on the stream of water that had taken to following his jawline before dripping off of his chin, slowly my eyes scanned his face before they landed on his pale pink lips that were pulled into a smile. I could feel my cheeks heat up further as I pulled my gaze up to his dark eyes that seemed to be even darker than usual.  _ Since when was he this attractive.  _

Daemon’s cheeks darkened slightly as he moved closer to me. His arms gently wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into a loose hug, his breath cascaded across my neck as his head laid in the crook, causing me to shiver even if only just. “You seem cold, let’s get indoors.” Husky and purring, his voice demanded my attention, almost like he was trying to hypnotise me into following his words but I still protested, not wanting to lose the image of him caught in the rain. I shook my head and muttered something about enjoying the rain but I wasn’t given much of a choice he pulled me into the apartment building, a smile never leaving his face. “You need to look after yourself better, darling. I don’t want you sick.” His voice was cautious as he pulled me into our apartment and then the shared bathroom, wrapping me up in a fluffy towel as he pushed his jacket off of my head, it now only sitting on my shoulders. “There, that should keep you warm. Now, stay here while I get you a change of clothes.” He shot me another smile before leaving the room while a big grin crossed my face as I squealed quietly at the attention my usually cold roommate was giving me.  _ Ah, his smile is so cute!  _ The more boy crazy side of me cheered as I thought back to his smiling face that made me feel warm inside. It was so much better than his usual grumpy look. 

A moment went by before Daemon walked back in with a bundle of my sleepwear. I chirp out a thanks and start to change into them, using the large fluffy towel as a way to block his view. I didn’t care how odd it was, I just wanted the soaked dress off of my skin. Once I got myself into the comfortable, dry clothes, I wrapped myself in the fluffy towel again and looked casually over my shoulder at the stunned, flushed man standing by the door. “Sorry, I just really needed to get out of that dress.” I apologise before slowly making my way over to him, my bare feet barely making a sound on the tiles. “I hope you didn’t see anything that could scar you.” A small joke to hopefully break the tension, and with a flutter of his beautiful eyes and a deep breath in, I knew it worked. He stammered out an excuse to leave before stumbling his way out, his blush deepening as he went.  _ God, I really hope he didn’t see something that scarred him. _ I turned to look at the mirror above the sink and my eyes widened at the mess of mascara that had run slightly down my face, the sight causing me to grimace.  _ That would do it…  _ My thoughts hissed as I began to scrub the makeup off of my face, only leaving the bathroom once I looked fresh-faced again. Panda eyes might suit Daemon most of the time but they don’t suit me at all. 

A sigh left me as I fell backward onto my soft bed, wondering what Daemon could have been thinking. I wasn’t lying down with my thoughts for long when Daemon strolls in and plops down next to me. Before I could ask what was wrong he turns his head to me and says: “You’re stunningly beautiful, you know that right?” Soon our faces matched as my cheeks flushed scarlet. “I… um… I wasn’t scarred by what I saw. More… mesmerized, really.” As if my cheeks couldn’t darken anymore. “Ruined makeup and all, because it doesn’t change the person underneath. And I’ve always found you beautiful.” His lips curl into a grin as he turns onto his side and places an arm over me. “Get some sleep now, I’ll see you it the morning.” Was all I heard before my eyes started to drop, suddenly heavy with exhaustion. 

The sounds of birds chirping woke me up. I let out a groggy groan before pulling myself off of the bed. I had a day off today so I didn’t have to deal with the mountain of paperwork that would surely be on my desk once I got back. I cautiously stepped out of my room and moved my way into the kitchen, unsure of the time and not wanting to wake Daemon up. He was, unfortunately, a rather light sleeper, more than the regular person, so it didn’t take much to wake him up. He had once complained that he had woken up because I was walking too loudly even though I was slowly tiptoeing on a carpet. That was before he refurbished the apartment and removed almost all the carpet, the only place having that type of flooring was my room, to which it seemed that he made sure it was the fluffiest stuff he could find. I let out a breath of relief as I see him sitting at the kitchen’s island, eating away at a bowl of cereal and looking at something on his phone. “So, Sleeping Beauty finally wakes.” His voice purrs out as he pushes a plate of pancakes towards me. “Here you go~” More purring from the businessman. I greet him with a yawn before sitting next to him. “Sleep well?”

“Very! I didn’t expect to drop off like that, surprised I didn’t get a crick in my neck.” I laugh nervously, before starting to eat the food. I really didn’t know how to talk to Daemon, even after last night. I could feel his eyes on me as I ate, which was more than unnerving. “This is really good.” I hoped the compliment would make him stop staring but I wasn’t that lucky. “Um… I really enjoyed last night…?” I give him a nervous grin.  _ From charming straight back to uncomfortable, what is with this guy?  _ Suddenly a shocked look crosses his face before a smile curls his lips. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

Daemon cleared his throat before sliding off of his seat, bowl in hand as he paced over to the dishwasher. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, I was hoping you would. It means I can plan out more nights out like that.” I make a sound to imply that I would like that before I walk over to the dishwasher myself and put my plate in before he closes it and turns it on. “Who knows, mayhaps these outings can develop into full-on dates, relationship perks included.” His wolf-like grin at that moment had me backing up. Yes, I liked his smile but I’d rather his soft smile to that. “That’s just being hopeful though.” His attempt at lightening the mood, at least I think it was an attempt at that, wasn’t too great. I shrug and chirp out a small ‘maybe’ before making my way over to my spot on the couch and start up the console that he had gotten me. “Maybe could do something tonight?” He called out from his place in the kitchen. As much as I was enjoying the newfound attention, I needed time away from this man that was giving me too many signals.

So, I made my grave. 

“Can’t, a few friends and I are going drinking at a bar.” I lied.

Now I have to lie in it.


	4. The Bar

It was unusual for me to go out for a drink, let alone invite someone to drink with me but I needed to just in case Daemon decided to check up on me. I gazed at the bar around me, it was quiet and a tad empty because it wasn’t usually frequented by young people despite its modern design and range of drinks. It was in a quieter part of town. “Thanks for coming with me, Mike.” I mutter, glancing over at the man next to me. He used to live next to me but moved away with his friend Ben, who I’ve never met, shortly before Daemon moved in with me. Mike was a decent guy when he was behaving and off of whatever he was on at the time. From what I could remember, he ran an ice cream shop. 

“It’s not a problem, really. Ben is usually busy at work at this time so I’m rather happy to be doing something instead of waiting around at home. Y’know, since my shop is currently being repaired. Haha…” Mike laughed nervously. I looked at him rather confused before he went on to explain that an odd-looking gentleman caused havoc and destroyed half the shop, leaving the poor guy’s wife to run around trying to salvage things all the while apologising for her husband’s behaviour. “It was so weird, all that destruction and she’s cleaning it up as if someone had just dropped a cloth on the floor, not to mention she was heavily pregnant too. Poor lady…” My drinking buddy sighed. “It would have been easier to deal with if Beni didn’t hide my stash.” It was safe to say the guy had an addiction problem.

I gave him an awkward smile before asking the bartender for another drink. “I have some problems of my own, actually. With my roommate too, funnily enough.” Mike tilts his head as if to say ‘carry on’. “He keeps giving me conflicting signals! He looks as if could kill a person, his mood changes around me as if there’s no rhyme or reason, he flirts and sets up a lovely mood that might just go somewhere and then he’s babying me as he was my parent. Not to mention how quickly he can get angry at me. It’s like he’s jumping between wanting to jump my bones and wanting to jump me. If you catch my drift.” Mike looked shocked for a moment before bursting out laughing, words being broken up in the process. I only heard something that seemed to be along the lines of ‘That’s a lot of jumping.’ I gave the man an irritated look before joining in on the laughter.

The man tried to catch his breath before giving any advice, even if he wasn’t the greatest person to give it. “Sounds like the dude is trying too hard to try and come off as smooth and holding his feelings back. But damn even if it isn’t that.” I sigh and look down at my bottle, even if that was the case, it didn’t mean he should be acting like that. “Sorry, I’m not very good at this, especially while sober.” He throws me an apologetic smile before turning to look at his own drink. I mutter that it’s fine before starting to down the bottle of alcohol. A part of me just wanted to numb the confusion as well as the small but rising sense of dread that started to bubble within me. 

After a few hours and bottles, Mike decided he had enough and needed to leave before his roommate tried to blow up his phone so I was left alone at the bar, drinking in my lonesome. It was peaceful, the smell of alcohol and the cologne typically worn by the old alcoholics that enjoyed the quiet bar. I let out what seemed to be the hundredth sigh since I entered the building. I was half tempted to go back home and just sleep to avoid Daemon if I needed to, I didn’t want to deal with his moods after I just spent hours in a calm atmosphere. 

My body seemed to naturally stiffen as an odd smell of chocolate began to waft through the building. I turned my head to look around and see if anyone had brought anything that pungent and sweet in but all the other patrons seemed to be just talking and enjoying a drink instead of eating anything that could be producing such a sickly scent. My nose scrunched slightly as I felt my stomach begin to feel heavy as I took in more of the smell. Heat slowly began to build in what felt like the lower parts of my abdomen, making me groan lowly under my breath as I pressed my legs together. It felt odd as if I was being turned on but my body knew that there was no reason to feel this way. I gulped down the feeling before giving the bartender the money I owed for my drinks and leaving the bar to try and cool down. 

The cool air felt heavenly on my heated skin, and my lungs practically drank the air in as my body tried hard to not collapse while it was freaking out from the sudden burst of uncomfortable warmth. The poor wall beside me was forced to hold my weight.  _ I need to go home.  _ My thoughts cried as I struggled to keep myself up. The sickly scent seemed to be outside too as the burning feeling began to intensify, a slickness starting to go down my legs. I bit back a groan as I pushed myself away from the brick wall and began to make heavy steps in the direction towards home.

It felt as if I had been walking forever, that nauseatingly sweet smell still following. My feet were barely able to pick up normally, making me stumble and nearly trip every few steps. I was half surprised I wasn’t on the floor until I actually tripped, my foot catching behind the other and sending me forward. My eyes scrunched together as I prepared for the pain of my face meeting the floor, only to feel hands grabbing my shoulders and keeping me from touching the ground. “Huh…?” I was barely able to mutter as I was pulled to a standing position, I was held there for a moment before I was turned to look at the person who saved me from my fall.

The couple that were now in front of me definitely looked odd, the woman who was heavily pregnant seemed like the more normal of the two with a slightly oversized red and white striped blazer hanging over an off white loose dress which was probably designed for pregnant women. The guy, on the other hand, seemed to be a twin of Daemon apart from the bubblegum pink handlebar moustache that twitched as he checked me over, he was wearing a pastel mixture of a pale yellow shirt, pink suspenders, beige trousers and all topped off with brown leather shoes. Eccentric came to mind as I looked at the pair of them.  _ I’m too drunk for this.  _ I ask them if everything’s okay, my words slurring slightly showing that the alcohol I had consumed was kicking my ass. 

The woman looked at the guy for a moment before checking over me herself. “We should be asking if you’re okay. You’re barely able to stand!” Her voice was oddly caring, recognition in her eyes as she looked me. She did look familiar. She was about to continue to speak before something caught her attention, her nose twitching as she must have smelt the sweet air. I wanted to warn her against it but I doubted that I’d be able to even get the message across. “Chocolate… Dark! Stop it!” She growled out as her male companion continued to check me over as if he had never seen someone be drunk before. 

“Stay still, madam.” His own slurred words warned as I tried to pull away from him. “Sugar, perhaps we should get her to a doctor. She doesn’t seem to be taking it well.” His speech annoyed me, it wasn’t fair that he was slurring like me but he could actually talk.  _ Damn you inability to drink large amounts!  _ My thoughts exclaimed before a plethora of the word ‘shit’ filed my thoughts as the pastel dressed man picked me up after his ‘Sugar’ nodded at him before she stormed off to deal with something. The impulsive part of me wanted to yell at the man to put me down and fight me but I just stayed put as he carried me off to what was most likely the hospital. I didn’t look where we were going as I felt motion sickness creep up on me whenever I tried to turn my head.

The pastel man kept muttering words of comfort under his breath, a few apologies mixed in as he carried me into a brightly lit, sterile smelling place that could only be the hospital. I looked off to the side and saw a man sitting in the waiting area, looking comfortable and seemingly reading despite the blood-stained bandages that were wrapped around his eyes. He looked up at a woman, his covered eyes seemed to follow her until he turned to the point it seemed to be looking at the pastel man and I. A frown now on his face. I turn my head, despite the complaints from my eyes and stomach, to look at who just approached us. She was a sweet looking woman, obviously a doctor if the large white lab coat was anything to go off of. 

I could hear the man’s slurred words as he spoke to the doctor but I didn’t concentrate on what was mentioned, my attention now on the bandaged man again. The feeling of recognition hit me again. A part of me screaming that I knew him and I should go over and say hello while the rest of me saying it was a bad idea as the air of danger surrounding him made itself apparent. It was a similar air that clung to Daemon, and it clung to the pastel man holding me as well but I had no choice but be near the strange moustached man and I had known Dae long enough to trust him. Soon enough, the man holding me was moving again, this time following the female doctor further into the hospital.

I could feel my eyes began to try to close as my head nodded forward, my body lacking the strength to keep it up. A yawn escaped my mouth before I rested my head against the pale material of the man’s shirt. I tried to stay awake but my body was having none of it. 

An irritated groan left my lips as harsh lights felt as if they were trying to blind my tired eyes. I turned to my side the best I could, my face creasing in discomfort at the hard and uncomfortable bed underneath me. My eye that was furthest from the light peeked open, just enough to look around the room. It quickly became apparent that I wasn’t in a room but a ward, there were people with sores and bandages in different places on the body. I was in the ER. Another groan left me, just quieter this time as I tried to sit up, only to be ushered back down by a familiar face.  _ Daemon?  _

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. You okay? I heard you were brought in looking quite sick, and drunk.” His deep voice was soothing to my aching head. I nod slowly before trying to sit up once again, whining as he made me laid down once again. “You need to stay down and rest. You’ve only been asleep for a few hours.” After a painful roll of the eyes, they scanned his face only to notice what seemed to be a minor bit of swelling and redness on his cheek as if someone had whacked him with a good amount of force around the face. My hand thoughtlessly wandered up to his face, resting on his reddened cheek the pad of my thumb brushing against his skin gently. “I got into a bit of a fight, a guy thought I was looking at his wife even after I told him that I only have eyes for someone else. Apparently, he took that as an insult against his wife.” He gave a small side smile as he leaned into my hand, his eyes becoming half-lidded and his eyes becoming darker as they stared down at me.

I throw him a half-assed smile, before muttering I need a drink, my throat rather hoarse even if I have been asleep for a few hours. Daemon looked around, most likely to check for a vending machine before turning his head back into my hand, his lips gently kissing my palm before saying that he’ll be right back. I wave to him to say ‘see you’ as I watch him leave my line of sight. With him gone, I use the opportunity to start sitting up once again, a smile of victory on my face as I was able to do so without being interrupted. Curiosity got the better of me as my eyes began to graze over the ward, looking at my bed neighbours, waving to the old lady on the opposite side of the room from me when she sent a kind smile my way. 

My eyes stopped wondering as they got to what seemed to be the other entrance to the ward, a man in a trenchcoat catching my attention - the man with the bandages around his eyes. He waved gently in my direction before crossing his arms as if that was a resting position for him. It was weird that he almost seemed as if he was able to see despite the now clean bandages around his eyes. I send him a sheepish smile and he smiles right back before his head turns to look at the entrance he wasn’t standing by, a frown now prominent on his face. My eyes followed the direction he seemed to be looking, my gaze landing on Daemon fiddling with the stuff in his arms before he lifted his head to look at me, a not too impressed look on his face as a smug smile slowly curled on mine. 

Daemon rolled his eyes at me before placing his vending machine loot down on the bottom of the bed. My eyes flicker between the bundle of smacks and drinks and him to try and ask why there was so much. “I ran into a bit of a problem with the machine and well… after a kick, this is the somewhat pleasing result.” He chuckled quietly before sitting on the edge of the bed.  _ Bitch better not push me down again. _ My thoughts growled as I leaned forward to grab a bottle of my favourite soda. My eyes never leaving the man who looked shocked at something as his eyes fluttered slightly. I stopped focusing on the man near me as I practically inhaled the soda, relishing in the relief it gave to my dry throat.

After all the liquid was gone, I took in a deep breath and vowing out loud ‘I’m never going drinking ever again.’ once again in my life where I never seemed to learn that drinking too much was a bad idea. Daemon laughed at my announcement before mentioning that he needed to talk to a doctor about checking me over and leaving me alone once again. Once he was again out of eyesight, I looked back over to where the man in the trenchcoat stood only to find him sneaking his way over. It was only a few moments before he was in front of me, giving me a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek before leaving through the entrance he came through, leaving me severely confused in the process.

A blush coated my cheeks as my hand reached up to touch where the strange man kissed, my thoughts a muddle as I tried to place where I could have possibly known him from. There were plenty of people that had left my life, or whose life I had left. It was definitely something when your boyfriend disappears out of the blue and you get attacked at your friend’s place. Apparently, women getting attacked in that building became a bigger problem after it happened to me. I suspected it was the same thing that did it. I just ended up deeming myself unlucky, mostly after Arthur went missing.  _ I miss that goofball.  _ My thoughts whined as I thought back to him and my friend hanging out, things were simpler then.

My thoughts were broken as the female doctor that the pastel man had spoken to walked over, Dae behind her trying his best to sneakily look at the clipboard in her hands. I looked at the bottom of the bed to see that there was no board there so I could only guess that she was holding the board with my information. She greets me in a soft voice, the kind that wouldn’t even spook a deer. The doctor was easy on the eyes too, she had a very calming air around her and I was under its influence as I calmly replied to any question she had and after a few minutes and a check over, she gave me the clear and allowed me to be discharged. Daemon was quick to get me out of there and into his car that was waiting outside. 

By the time we had reached home, I was practically holding onto the edge of the car seat as my chest heaved as I tried to calm myself down. Daemon had driven like a maniac in order to get home and was surprisingly terrifying when it came to road rage and turns out, he wasn’t any good at dealing with traffic. With a panicked scramble, I practically launched myself out of the car and ran towards the entrance of the building. My heart was racing too much and I felt sick. I rushed back to my apartment and fled into my room to get a spare change of clothes and to head to my bathroom to clean. 

Daemon called from outside the bathroom, apologies and pleas flooded my ears as my roommate tried to get me to talk to him. My hands placed against the shower wall as the stream of dispersed water sprayed my back with warm water, the gentle warmth relaxed my muscles. A sigh of relief escaped me as the tension rolled off of me. My body instinctively flinching as Daemon began knocking on the door again to apologise.  _ Can’t a girl shower in peace?  _ Soon after my thoughts complained, the knocking abruptly stopped as if the man read my thoughts as usual. I recalled joking to Thomas that Daemon seemed to be able to do that, the genuine grin on his face when he suggested that the man was a psychic was enough to brighten my day. Then again Thomas was a natural at that.

It wasn’t until I was fully relaxed and my legs had stopped spasming from me seeing to myself as I usually did when I really needed to relax that I wrapped myself up in a fluffy housecoat and left the warm room to face the man that drove like he was possessed and nearly gave me a heart attack. “Dae?” I ask out cautiously, tiptoeing my way across the wooden floor, freezing as I spot the man hunched over, his arms gripping the back of the couch, his chest heaving as sweat seemed to drip off of him. His eyes seemed almost pitch black.

 

“Daemon?” 


	5. The Nightmare

“Daemon?” My voice called out as I watched the man in front of me struggle to even function. “Daemon, what’s wrong?” My voice wavered as I made my way over and wrapped him up in a hug, his head pulled into my chest as I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm the seemingly panicking man. I could hear his muffled apologies sound out through the fabric of my overly fluffy housecoat. Begrudgingly, I pull his face away and ask him why he’s apologising, my words stopping as I notice the tears running down his face. “Why are you crying?!” 

The raven-haired man in my arms flinched before rubbing away at his now smudged eyeliner. “I… I… I don’t want to hurt you…” His voice cracked as tears began to spill out of eyes again. “I could never forgive myself if I did…” I leaned my forehead against his, not caring about the sweat as I worked to try and calm him down. I mumble how he could never hurt me. An exhausted sigh leaves him, his arms curling around me and pulling me tightly into him, my head now against his chest. “Oh, if only that were the case…” His head rested on top of mine as he began to hum a tune.

I wanted to look up at him, to stare him in the eyes and flat out tell him that he wouldn’t hurt me, that it was clear that he liked me too much to genuinely hurt me. Despite all his weird behavior, it was easy to tell. I tried to follow the tune and hum it back to him, figuring it would help cheer him up. Daemon eventually mumbled that he was tired, retiring to his bedroom, unfortunately, tears still running down his face.  _ I’m sorry I’m not enough to cheer you up, Dae.  _ My thoughts lamented before I went into my own room, locking the door behind me as I did.

The bedroom, something that could either be a safe haven or a prison depending on who was in your home at any given point. For me, it was a place where I could calm down and think. Daemon made sure the atmosphere of it reflected that, with light and calming colour and soft fabrics being used everywhere. The soft cream coloured carpet underneath my feet was the first indicator that I was in my room, so I felt as if I could find it even with my eyes closed. I made my way over to my bed, plopping down at the edge as I began to think about the guy at the hospital. 

The kiss still confused me, it was soft and the feeling of it was so weirdly familiar. My eyes scrunched shut as I fell back onto the bed.  _ Who was that guy? And why did he kiss me?  _ My thoughts questioned as I laid there in silence, only for me to jump up a moment later after Daemon’s voice yelled out something that seemed to be a “What?!” 

Only a few seconds went by before Daemon was knocking at my bedroom door. “Letmeinletmeinletmein!” His voice was panicked as his hands pounded away at the door, urging me to rush over, unlock the door and yank the door open. “Gah!” Was all he said before he landed face first onto the floor, reminding me of the first time we had been in this situation just the other way around, I had just had a nightmare and I had run to Daemon for comfort only for him to swing the door open unexpectedly fast when I was leaning against it. “Why do I have a feeling that this is karma for letting you fall that one time…?” His question was muffled by the carpet but still made me chuckle.

“Have a nightmare or something?” I joked as I pulled him up from the floor, but all he did was shrug in reply and pull me over to my bed. “Everything alri-” A yelp slipped through my mouth, interrupting me as I landed on the bed with a bounce. Before I could complain, I bounced again as Dae landed next to me, a smile on his face as our eyes met. “Why?” Another shrug from the raven haired man. His arms stretch out and pull me close. “Hey!” My face once again meets his chest. A huff left me as I shifted about in his hold before settling down as my arms slip around his neck. “Oi, what’s up?”

Daemon’s face twisted into a mild look of pain as he looked off to the side, almost as if he was trying to figure out something to say. “I… I know I terrified you with my driving. I don’t want you to be terrified of anything I do!” He admits, pulling my body closer to his, the lack of distance was enough for a small pool of warmth to rise from my core as a gulp bobbed in my throat. “And I can’t stand even trying to sleep with the thought of you scared of me even being a possibility. But... I also didn’t want you to see me freak out about it...” His voice drifted off as he began to talk about being embarrassed by the situation, a small dusting of a blush on his cheeks. 

Gently shifted my head against his chest, nuzzling into it. Another attempt at trying to cheer him up. A small, almost silent purr seemed to radiate from him, shocking me as I was quite sure that humans didn’t purr but I mostly just wanted to squeal about how cute it was. I quickly peeked up at the man to see him smiling gently down at me. “Feeling better now?” I asked softly, my hand once again reaching for his cheek, something that seemed to be becoming a habit. Daemon took the opportunity to lean into the palm of it, much like he had done at the hospital but this time his lips brushed ever so slightly against the skin almost teasing and tickling it. A scarlet hue griped my cheeks as I looked up at the man who was practically kissing my hand.

The affectionate man’s smile grew slightly as I poked at him to answer my question, a chuckle slipping through his grin as my pokes transition into small rapid movements on his side in an attempt to tickle him. “I’m feeling better, I’m feeling better!” He exclaimed through a burst of deep, full, contagious laughter that made me slip into a giggling fit as my other hand slipped down to join in the tickling, my body shifting into the best position to tickle the man which at the time was to straddle him. His wonderful laughter continued, only being broken by quick gasps for air and infrequent squeals, the sound of it made my heart flutter as I joined in on the joyful sound. A smile really did look much better on his beautiful face, and it was a smile that captured my heart at that moment.

After several laughter filled minutes, Daemon finally decided enough was enough and peeled my hands away from his sides, his fingers slipping between mine as our hands entangled themselves so it looked like he was holding me up. Both of our chests were moving quickly, trying to drink in the air that had fled us as we laughed, small laughs and giggles still escaping us. Once we had calmed down enough to hold eye contact, I noticed how warm and inviting his dark brown eyes actually were and how all the laughing seemed to lighten his eyes from what looked like pitch black orbs to something that actually resembled a colour and I could slowly feel myself getting lost in them.  _ I think I might just be falling for you… _

A deep blush found its way across his cheeks, his smile growing even more as he began to lean up to the point where he was sitting up and I was sitting on his lap. I ask him if he’s okay and he gives me a quick nod. That purring sound radiating from his chest again. An adoring smile crosses my lips as I lean my head against his chest to get a better hear of that adorable noise. Slowly my nose picked up on the smell of chocolate once again, this time it wasn’t as sickly and was much more inviting. The scent blended wonderfully with Daemon’s most likely expensive cologne. I wasn’t worried about the smell this time, both Dae and I indulged in chocolate so I probably left a bar of it somewhere in my room. Daemon’s hands slipped from my own to my hips, his fingers gently brushing against the area, moving in slow circles. The heat in my core started to grow as I felt him nuzzle between the crook of my neck, his lips brushing against the skin ever so slightly. A low groan left my lips as he brushed over a sensitive spot on my neck, I could feel him smirk against my skin before I felt his teeth lightly sink in causing me to moan out loud, my face completely flushed at my reaction. I wasn’t so quick to moan with other partners.

I pulled away and cleared my throat, trying to concentrate on anything other than the slick that started to pool out of me. Daemon shoots me a questioning look before nudging me closer to him again, a hopeful look on his face while a confident smile tried to hide it. I apologise and move off of his lap, taking place beside him instead. I couldn’t keep my gaze on him as hurt flooded his features. I mutter that I’m not ready for anything sexual, all while trying to subtly rub my thighs together, needing a little friction. As much as I wanted to do the devil’s tango with him, I wanted to make sure my feelings were true, I didn’t want to play with his feelings. “Maybe in the future, just… not now. I’m sorry.” I turn away from him, flinching as I hear him storm out and slam my door.  _ I didn’t think it would upset him that much.  _

Exhaustion grabbed at me after I sat there with my thoughts, I felt my head fall forward slightly as the tiredness began to make my body heavy, with a shake of my head I was able to wake myself up enough to find something to change into even if it was a familiar old college top. A nostalgic smile crosses my face as a memory of my best friend and Arthur come to mind, the top was his after all. I could still remember his goofy smile as if he was right in front of me. I wiped the slowly rising tears away and slipped the comfy top on after allowing the housecoat to slip off of my shoulders and swapping it with the top I was already wearing. Putting on clothes and then a housecoat after a shower was something I started doing while I was young, even if it was considered strange. I always dried myself off before I put the clothes on. I wanted to change my clothes because suddenly the relatively clean clothes didn’t feel so clean. As soon as I got the new stuff on, I leaped for my bed and tried to fall asleep, dreading the work I’d have to do in the morning.

 

_ Chanting. Why was someone chanting? Annoying. So annoying. I gazed around, it appeared as if I was in a kitchen. A familiar kitchen. A gulp bobbed my throat as I felt as if something was looming behind me. I felt sick. A pressure on my shoulder made my head swing over to look at what had landed on my shoulder only to see a glob of a somewhat clear liquid that I could only guess was the creature’s saliva. I swallowed my courage and decided to make a break for it, I wasn’t going to turn back and look at its ugly face. _

_ I had gotten quite a bit away before I heard someone cry for help. “Dove!” The sound of his voice caused me to look back, tears welling up in my eyes as my favourite writer was being pulled back by the monster. I cry out his name and try to run forward, only to be held back by thick black thorn-covered vines that seemed to be completely coated over with a weird substance which gave off that horrid nauseating smell of sickly sweet chocolate. Any time I yanked my arms away from the vines, they’d constrict and the thorns would dig into my skin, cutting away at the flesh and poisoning it with the gross viscous fluid that it secreted. I cried Arthur’s name once more as I pulled my eyes back over to the horrid scene, my eyes widening as the creature had begun to pull away at his arms, one of my old love’s beautiful eyes now missing and flowing with blood as if a river of red tears were washing down his face. I closed my eyes and yelled at the thing to come after me, I was what it initially wanted after all. Taunts and insults left my lips to try and bait it to attack. Once more I yelled at for it to come after me, my arms practically flailing amongst the vines, not caring if they ripped more tears into the skin, it gives less for the monster to do. _

_ “Don’t be so stupid!” His deep voice made my eyes snapped open, Daemon was standing in front of me, holding the same wounds that the monster had given the other love of my life. “Look at you, you got yourself hurt!” He scolded me as his arms reached over, slowly prying away at the vines and making them release my arms but the thick fluid stayed on my skin as if it had stained it or was trying to act like a second skin. I mutter his name, attempt to warn him of the monster but he gently places a finger to my lips, hushing me but ignoring my widening eyes as the creature appears behind him. I tried to warn him but words wouldn’t leave my throat. The sweet scent of chocolate burning my senses before the burning heat that attacked my body before struck me once more. “Sorry, my love. It doesn’t have its natural effect when I’m pissed off.” His deep voice deepened and echoed as he spoke, his little explanation ending with a sinister chuckle. _

_ The horridly saccharine smell grew more intense as a dark mist started to fill the hallway, the burning quickly became too much for me as I collapsed, barely able to keep myself up. An eerie, screeching repetitive sound began to hurt my ears as I used the last of my energy to reach out to Daemon before my vision went black. _

 

Gasps left me as I woke up to the sound of my alarm screeching away, letting me know it was time to start the day and get ready for work. I let out a huff and made my way to the bathroom, work clothes in hand. Not bothering to check if Daemon was awake as I dropped my clothes on top of the hamper lid and gazed tiredly into the mirror. I looked like shit, to be brutally honest. It would be easy for my friends to tell I had a nightmare again. They initially occurred after I lost Arthur but after I had been attacked, they got worse, more graphic and I couldn’t stand it. I checked myself over, pulling gently at the bags under my eyes and so on, the check over stopping as I notice the bright red mark on my neck.

It looked almost like an indentation cast used by a dentist with how clearly you could see the mark left by each tooth. I ran my fingers over the raised flesh, brushing against the dried blood that rested against the skin. There seemed to be a fair bit of bruising already appearing but it was at the base of the neck, underneath the bite so my shirt collar would luckily cover it up enough so it wouldn’t draw any attention - hopefully. I sigh and resign myself to my fate as I go through my morning routine and make my way off to work, not a single word spared to Daemon. As harsh as it was, I didn’t want to make his childish temper tantrum over not getting laid worse.

The journey to work was uneventful as was to be expected except for that black stray dog that was now almost right at my ankles as it followed behind me. I shooed it away before heading into the gloomy building that held my job. With a sigh, I stepped in. Immediately, I noticed the odd atmosphere as people muttered amongst themselves about god-knows-what. I quickly made my way through the first floor of cubicles and into the elevator on the other side of the room. My foot impatiently tapped on the elevator’s floor as I waited for it to rise to the floor my cubicle was placed.  _ God, I hate elevators…  _ My thoughts whined as the doors opened, and in my eagerness to leave, I nearly sprinted out of them. I appreciated that I had to use the elevator though. The higher the floor meant the higher in the company you were, and obviously, that meant more money. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t mean more respect as my feet hooked across someone else’s and sent me flying into someone’s chest. A harmony of gasps and whispers followed, their watching gazes only turning after I glared at them. I mutter a quick sorry to whoever I bumped into and rushed to where Thomas and my desk was. It took me a moment to get myself together, bag down, sat in my seat and ready to log into the computer but I stopped once I noticed the shocked look on Thomas’s face. “What?”    
My friend’s eyes flickered between me and the direction I had just come from, his skin paling as he gulped and tried to think of how to tell me whatever the problem. I gestured to continue before he took a deep breath in to finally answer me. “You just ran into the new big boss and knocked his coffee into him.” 

_ Well, shit. _


	6. The Boss

There were times I regretted just waking up at all, usually there was no reason apart from feeling as if I needed more sleep but this time there was definitely a reason as the people around me started whispering things around me, my name being muttered and giggles following as the corporate sense of dread chilled my blood especially as the giggling voices near me quietened down, indicating the new head of the company’s presence behind me. My gaze meets Thomas’s but all he can do now is give me a good luck smile before he turns to work on his files. Once again in a short amount of time, a plethora of the word ‘shit’ chanted across my thoughts, my body shaking slightly as I worried about being fired. True, I had only made my new boss spill coffee on himself but in previous jobs, I had been fired for less.

With a gulp and a deep breath to try and calm my nerves, I turned to face the devil. My jaw dropped as I looked up at him, the smug look on his overly handsome face, his well-kempt hair with not a strand out of place, his fitted tailored suit hugging his body while his shirt seemed to be struggling to hold together as the buttons strained against the material, his dark eyes stared down at me with flickers of amusement running through them. His smile widened as he leaned down slightly, I could just about hear that small purring sound as I watched his sharp, slightly elongated canines scrape gently against his bottom lip. I gulped once again as I continued to look up at Daemon, cursing my luck as I did so.

“Well now, this is certainly something. Isn’t it, my dear~?” His voice purred, the sound covering up the actual purr. I felt a bit dizzy as I tried to think of something to say, but I’m pretty sure I only made myself look silly with my mouth opening and closing in shock. “You need to be more careful with where you’re going but don’t worry, I know it wasn’t your fault. I’ll talk to the culprit afterwards.” The man threw me a smirk and winked before walking over where I had been tripped up. Quickly, I turned to face my computer as to make sure I wasn’t harassed for watching the person get told off. Some office workers really were worse than kids. A few far too silent moments went by before the whole floor practically shook as Daemon’s furious voice flooded the room. I slid down slightly into my chair, knowing that I really was going to get it at lunch. 

Silence filled the room again as Daemon finally had enough at yelling at the employee that dared to trip me over. Thomas and I met glances before we both turned to look in the direction, the person who tripped me was now on their way out of the room, sobbing their heart out. “Something tells me that we shouldn’t anger him.” I looked at him with a ‘really?’ look before making a joke about how his temper was hotter than the coffee that got spilt. The atmosphere in my section of the room now calm as the joke got some of the surrounding cubicles giggling or at least smiling. 

Agonisingly slow, that’s how I’d describe my day. There wasn’t much in the way of files or spreadsheets being sent my way and most of it was basic email work with some of the lower floors. Nate caught my attention as he made his way over. “Shorty, you got a problem.” Confused, I ask him what’s wrong as I look over his now pale face. “Big boss wants to see you.” He mutters before offering to come with me on the way but I wave his offer away and mention to him and Thomas that I’ll see them tomorrow before nervously making my way to the elevator, I leaned against the side wall and gingerly pressed the top button for the first time since I joined the company.

_ Why does Dae need to see me?  _ My thoughts questioned as the elevator slowly raised through the building. Nerves were slowly getting the better of me as I began to pace around, my nails landing between my teeth as I began to think of all the possibilities ranging from him firing me because he didn’t want to have me work for him while we lived together or even him demoting me to show me he wasn’t going to play favourites. Or worst of all, him bringing up the rejection and causing an argument over it despite us both being at work. All I wanted to do was finish anything up and go home, it was easier to deal with him there as there wasn’t the power difference. A shaky sigh left me as the elevator dinged and opened their doors straight into Daemon’s new office. 

The office was in a modern black and white style, much like our apartment so it was clear that Daemon had done the decorating. The walls and floor were a pure white, the tiles on the floor were extremely well polished too making me more than glad I was wearing trousers at that moment. I looked to the very end of the extremely large room, Daemon was talking to the current secretary who was rather blatantly trying to flirt with him. She was bent over, hands on the arm of his chair and a huge grin on her face, the way she moved her body showed that she was trying to drag his attention lower to somewhere else on her body but fortunately, his eyes stayed purely on her face. In fact, he looked like he was a moment away from hitting her. My feet were quiet against the floor as I made my way over but I still caught the attention of my new boss and his inappropriately behaving secretary who gave me the stink eye. “You wanted to see me, Mr Morningstar?” I ask sweetly, looking between him and the woman who was seemingly trying to sit in his lap. I wanted nothing more than to rip her away from him and show her that she was never going to have him but I pushed those thoughts away and instead focused on what was going on at that moment.

Daemon, despite clearly not liking the woman’s advances, gestured for the woman to leave us alone while remaining as polite as possible in his own smooth way. Once alone the man’s shoulders dropped and an irritated look crossed his face. “God, I can’t stand women like that. One look at a guy they deem attractive and suddenly they’re throwing themselves at them… It’ll just get them killed.” He snarled before making his way around the desk so he was standing in front of me. “Luckily, with you, I don’t have to worry about that though. I served you myself on a silver platter and even then you didn’t take a bite. I’m sure a handsome stranger would have less luck.” It seemed as if it was meant to be a joke but the words made my stomach feel as if it dropped, my gaze falling to the floor as a subtle hint of accusation crept over. With a not-so-gentle tug, my head was pulled to look up by the chin, Daemon’s single finger refusing to let it drop back down. “Perhaps I should offer using a gold plate next time~” 

Crimson was painted across my cheeks but the sinking sensation faded as I realised that he wasn’t hurt by my rejection, skip of the beat of my heart as he made it clear he wanted to keep trying. I shoot him a smile before asking if he needed anything. 

My boss made his way back around his desk and picked up the coat that was laid on the back of his chair. “Just wanted to know if you wanted to head home with me, we live together after all.” I barely even noticed him scoop up his briefcase as he walked in front of me once again. I mention that my bag is downstairs and I felt a bit awkward collecting my things with my boss waiting for me but he barely seemed bothered by my words and calmly said: “I’ll wait in the parking lot then.” and then sent me on my way.

Nate was still standing by my desk once I got back but I was too nervous about spilling to them that I lived with the boss that I just collected my things and gave them a quick goodbye before rushing down to the first basement level which contained the parking lot. I didn’t realise how cold the basement was until I was down there, a shiver ran through me as I could feel the hair on my arms begin to stand. I quickly jogged around to find the boss’s car space as fast as I could so my body would stop begging for warmth.

About five minutes of wandering occurred before I found the right spot but I didn’t go anywhere near the familiar Merc as it rocked from side to side slowly. My guts felt as if they were being twisted and yanked out through a tiny hole, the pain nearly sweeping me off of my feet as I hoped that he hadn’t been swayed by the secretary but that was most likely true. I could feel my eyes well up with tears as I began to slowly walk away, my feet lazily carrying me as tried to work out if I was dreaming still.  **CRACK. SNAP. THUD.** The sounds of something seemingly being ripped apart caught my attention, my head cautiously turning back to the Merc to see it now no longer rocking, not even slightly.

My head snapped back to staring ahead of me as I could hear one of the doors click. I slowly walked forward and made my head look side to side as if I was looking for the car despite clearly knowing where it was. I felt a presence behind me but I continued my faux search, only turning when I heard someone clear their throat. With a fake surprised expression I turned to look at my roommate standing in a shadowy area that the weak lights failed to reach, his eyebrow raised. “There you are! I’ve been wandering for a small bit now!” 

The dark, cold parking lot even seemed to chill Daemon’s smile that was clearly meant to be warm and inviting but for some reason seemed dishonest. “I was wondering what was taking you so long. You walked passed my car it seems.” He murmured, his tongue flicking out and licking away the substance that was at the corner of his mouth, I could barely tell what it was before it was gone. The dark didn’t help.  _ Gah, it’s so cold.  _ My hands came up to wrap around my arms, rubbing them to try and fight away the icy air. A concerned look crossed his face before he ushered me over and into his car. 

I had to try and stop myself from gagging at the smell that emanated from the car, sex and blood were probably a nice mixture to smell for some but it just made me feel sick. I quickly glanced into the rear view mirror to see nothing there which made me worry a bit, I had only heard one set of footsteps and the secretary had heels so it wasn’t as if her shoes would have made her steps quiet. My gaze fell over to Daemon who looked a lot calmer than before, his hair was even over his face again much like it was at home but it was messier than normal, his chest heaving ever so slightly.  _ Was… Was he masturbating in here?  _ It was the only thing I could think of that made sense. I asked about the odd sounds I heard shortly before I saw him. My question seemed to confuse him at first before he leaned back into his seat, his arm reaching across and behind him, to something that seemed to be in the footwell of the seat behind him. 

A few grunts left his lips as he seemed to struggle for whatever he was trying to grab. “I… seemed to have snapped… something at the bottom of my seat. I don’t know what though, might as well just get this stupid thing replaced.” He shrugged, pulling his arm back after he had given up trying to get whatever he was reaching for. He sighed and muttered about having the car since shortly before him and I met before telling me to buckle up as he started the car up.

The journey home wasn’t as bad this time, Dae let out a few choice words for those who had cut him up or were driving in a way he thought was more than just subpar but he committed to the speed limit which was good for my heart. Once we had gotten back, and into our apartment, we both went to our bedrooms to change. I was more than just glad that he wasn’t made that I had rejected him and a bit part of me was thrilled that he hadn’t slept with someone else but I did feel a bit silly at getting jealous and hurt over just suspecting him of doing that. It wasn’t as if we were even together. 

Awkwardly, my sweet tooth began to play up as I started to crave Devil’s food cake which was a favourite of mine, especially when my old friend used to make it. I doubt it was normal to feel weird about walking around my own apartment in my old boyfriend’s top but something told me that Daemon probably wouldn’t like it, I elected to ignore that something as my stomach begged for the chocolatey goodness it desired. So, with my stomach winning over my head, I ventured forth towards the kitchen, grabbing my cookbook from a shelf along the way.

The delicious aroma of chocolate surrounded me and filled the air, catching the attention of the other sweet lover that was my roommate who was now donning a baggy pair of jogging bottoms and a loose white top instead of his usual well fitted suit and somehow he looked just as attractive. Before he could ask what I was making I thrust the bowl of the deep brown cake batter towards him, exclaiming gleefully that he should try it. I wasn’t as good as my old friend when it came to baking but I was ecstatic to see it come together nicely. I waited with held breath as he lightly licked some of the sweet substance off of his finger, a pleased look washing over his face as he licked the rest off.

We both waited, watching the cake bake in the oven, like a pair of children with our butts on the floor and knees pulled up to our chins, arms wrapped around our legs. Shoulder to shoulder. For some reason, the wonderful smell made me hungry, in more than one way. My legs rubbed together slightly, my tongue ran over my top lip and my eyes flickered over to the very appealing man next to me. I thought back to the Merc rocking and how he must have really been having fun as he dealt with his own frustration and that made the current moisture problem in my once clean underwear a whole lot worse.

My eyes snapped away as I noticed him begin to look at me, embarrassed with the more than lustful thoughts running through my mind.  _ I’m not going to bang my boss. I’m not going to bang my boss. I’m not going to bang my boss.  _ I chanted internally to myself as I turned my attention back to the cake. The minutes slowly ticked by and the mess that was in my pyjama bottom became worse and worse with each annoying tick of the clock. A quiet groan left me before the timer on my phone finally decided to blare out, alerting me to the fact the cake should have had enough time in the heat.

Loud purring dragged my attention away from the now cooling cake, my head turning to look at the man making the sound to find him leaning against the island, a huge wolf-like grin on his face as a massive blush covered his cheeks.  _ Seems like I’m not the only one feeling the heat.  _ I could feel my own face flush as he made his way over to me, his arms curling around my waist and pulling me close. “So, will a gold platter work this time~?” His soft lips ghosted over mine as his fingers worked their way under the loose fabric of my oversized top, his fingers brushing lightly over my skin causing goosebumps to rise over my arms and coating my legs - but that wasn’t the only thing coating my legs.

A low mutter of his name left my lips but his lips covered mine, shushing me in a wonderfully passionate way. The kiss quickly transformed from slow and sweet to heavy and passionate, teeth and tongue crashing as our breaths became hot and mangled, my fingers tangled in his black locks and his were pressing roughly into my skin most likely bruising it. The raised bite mark on my neck tingled and burned but intense lust coursing through my veins and a single look from him had me ignoring it as I pulled him towards my room, a grin on my lips. I could barely concentrate as I felt his hot lips land on my skin, sending chills down my spine. 

Eventually, piece by piece, our clothes were shed and landed on the floor. Fingers brushing and teasing some of the most sensitive areas we could think of, moans, groans and pleasure filled whimpers left us in bucket loads as we collapsed onto my bed, barely noticing the bouncing of our bodies as they became entangled and becoming one. Almost scorching hot skin pressed against each other in such amazing ways as we began to do one of the oldest and most intimate dances known to man. And I didn’t want to regret a moment of it. I barely even noticed that the strong smell of chocolate that followed us into the room.


	7. The Lover

Hissing slipped through me as I pulled myself over to the edge of my usually comfortable bed, and I’m sure it was comfortable as always but I couldn’t feel it with the numbing in my lower half, burning sensation and the overall feeling of being roughly and thoroughly fucked. A giggle fell out of my lips as arms wrapped around my waist and soft lips gently pecked their way up my neck. His name was practically ingrained into my brain after I spent the night saying it like it was a prayer, but it left my mouth so naturally as I called out to the man who looked up at me from my shoulder with half lidded eyes and a lazy but proud smile curling his lips.

“Sleep well, my love~?” Daemon purred out in his usual tone, his beard gently tickled against my skin, helping bring home the reality of it all. I had slept with Daemon, my bizarre roommate who is now my boss. Tired words left me and I wasn’t quite sure what I said but apparently it was enough to warrant the man in my bed pulling me into a blistering hot kiss, waking me up almost instantly as my hands found their way to his hair. A grin on my lips as we hastily slipped into another round of a wonderful time.

Eventually, I found myself making my way to the bathroom, Arthur’s old top now back on me. I was glad that he never asked about the guys stuff I owned, but then again he probably just assumed that I was into a lot of that stuff and considering my gaming hobby, I could see why he’d assume that. I doubt I was ready to talk about my most likely dead first love, I hadn’t even grieved the loss properly but it was nice to know that my heart was finally moving on and someone that clearly was going to treat me right or at the very least, I hoped he would. I shook my head, stopping myself from focusing on the past and instead began to focus on the present. My sore body.

Pleasantly sore, that’s how I’d describe my body felt at that moment, the aches and burning didn’t bother me as I used the sink to hold my body up. The mirror reflected a me that looked as if I’d finally gotten a decent night’s sleep, my skin had a nice glow to it despite the red marks and purple bruises that littered my neck. With a curious tug, I pulled down the edge of the top down to reveal the initial bite mark, it seemed to have darkened, it now almost flat to the skin as a bruise took over but you could still see where each tooth sank in. My fingers gently ran over the bite mark, a moan slipping out of my lips as my sensitive skin seemed to send a jolt through me. I was going to have a harder time covering my neck for work since he aimed to cover it with marks. I let out a sigh and decided to do my morning routine.

Only after drying off and changing back into the comfortable top that I remembered about the cake that I had left out on the side. My feet slid across the floor as I rushed to rescue the baked good that was drying out only to skid to a halt as I watched the very naked man that I live with decorate said baked good. Crimson painted cheeks were a shared trait at that moment as he caught sight of me but his embarrassment quickly disappeared as he sent a half lidded grin my way, beckoning me over. Once I was by his side, he gave me a peck on the lips before joking that he saved the cake and that we were going to have it for breakfast.

I knew that Daemon had a ton of money but I didn’t expect him to buy and get the brand new car delivered so shortly after we had woken up. We had just got changed and left the building and we had spent most of our spare time kissing or eating cake. I looked between him and the car which was a black Tesla, at this point I think he’s just trying to show off. I look up at him once more as he looks down at me, a smile on his lips as if he’s waiting for me to say something about the expensive car. After a few blinks, I just turned and began to walk my usual journey to work. If I didn’t want my boss to drive me home, I certainly didn’t want him to drive me to work even if we did sleep together. 

_ Having sex doesn’t mean he wants to be with you romantically. He’ll find someone else now that he’s satisfied.  _ The cynical part of me chirped in, dampening my once good mood.  _ Arthur left. SHE left. He’ll leave too.  _ It sang out, making me silently plead with it to shut up as I reminded myself that I was the one that cut ties with my friend. I didn’t want her thinking I was crazy if I brought up that a monster attacked me in her apartment. I shook my head and practically ran to work, tripping slightly every now and again as I had chosen to wear a skirt and heels. 

It took until the lunch break for me to feel better again, as I watched Thomas and Nate sing and dance around, their food long forgotten on the table. Tyler and I were talking, sharing about the struggles of the different departments, the angers of having to fix the mistakes of other people and just the typical complaining of office work. The area used for lunch was filled with talking as plenty of people preferred to each lunch outside than the alternative. Cubicles weren’t exactly friendship and conversation friendly.

Tyler was joking about something before his voice slowly faded into silence as I felt someone sit right next to me, our legs brushing together and their arm discreetly going around my waist. I didn’t need to look at him to know it was Daemon, no one else had such a distinct and expensive smelling cologne. I heard him greet Tyler before introducing himself, acting as if he gave a damn which was already much more different than our previous boss. Nate and Thomas were quick to make their way over once they realised the situation. Daemon introduced himself to them, his leg purposely brushing against mine as he gently pulled me closer.

The boys tried to have a conversation with their new boss, asking questions ranging from his age, his previous profession and to questions like if he was married. Daemon showed them a graceful smile, a seemingly wistful and dreaming look painted in his eyes. “I’m not married, no. I’m currently trying to pursue a relationship with my roommate though but I fear she’s worried about my intention.” Was his answer, his fingers gently digging into my side as if he was trying to give me the classic comfort squeeze but the fact we were being watched meant he couldn’t make it obvious. A gently flush covered my cheeks as our eyes met, even for just a moment. 

The questions seemed to remain fairly innocent until Nate asked: “What happened to your secretary? She didn’t come in today and she’s known for coming in insanely early, and she hasn’t called in.” He always liked keeping an eye on other coworkers even if it wasn’t his job. Nate’s words ripped through the once happy atmosphere as if it was nothing but a thin sheet of tissue paper that was being cut with a overly sharpened blade. From comfortable to uncomfortable in a few simple seconds. My eyes flickered over to look up at Daemon, his lips in a thin line while his eyes became cold and harsh, for a moment I thought I was looking at a complete stranger and not the man I had known for a year and made love with just last night. I chirp in, suggesting something must have come up, recalling a time that another coworker had Nate worried that they hadn’t come in or called in and it turned out that they had broken their leg in an accident, their phone breaking at the same time which left them with nothing to contact the office.

Attention was now on me as I told the story, concluding it quickly enough while reiterating my point. A proud look on Daemon’s face while there was a oddly betrayed look on Nate’s, I sent my friend a hurt look back before turning my attention to the boss as he cleared his throat. “Oh, it’s nothing like that. I found her behaviour around me to be inappropriate, especially in a work environment, so I told her to stay at home today as her services are no longer needed.” _Inappropriate?_ _What does that make our ‘relationship’ then? I should be fired too._ Of course I could actually say any of that, but I wanted too. He could have just made her work in the offices. Tyler seemed to think the same way as he brought it up. “I could have sent her to work in a different department but nothing guaranteed that she wouldn’t simply just come into my office to harass me. This was the simple solution to any problem that could occur.”

Something felt wrong about the answer but none of us could work it out, not even after he left and we began to discuss it. Was it the tone? The words used? The fact he was clearly angry with the questions? The boys slowly but surely started to come up with their own theories. Ranging from very plausible to dark but that was the case for most conspiracy theories. I elected to stay optimistic and it simply being like Daemon had said, he didn’t like her advances so he told her not to come back in. I had mentioned what I witnessed her doing when I was called up there and that seemed to fuel their theorising fire which made me grateful that a fellow coworker by the name of Mat hadn’t overheard us. He’d probably say something more outlandish than the theories the boys came up with.

Thomas was the most grounded as he liked to be optimistic as well, bringing up that he could have possibly just wanted to change the secretary, preferring to hiring his own rather than dealing with the one the old boss had left behind. Turns out he had heard some gossip that the married old boss was having an affair with the now missing secretary and gave his job position away because his wife was forcing him to move out of state, which did add some credit to his theory. Daemon could have known that once he was given the position by the board. The gossip also gave credit to Tyler’s theory.

Tyler’s theory hurt my heart and practically made me panic at how plausible it was, he believed that Daemon fired the secretary so they should have sex and it wouldn’t be a problem if the board found out and he seemed angry because he still wanted it kept quiet. The fact that the secretary apparently had a thing for the previous boss, fueled this theory as it could show that she had a type for people with power and being a wannabe socialite that we knew her to be, it did make sense that she’d quickly forget her ‘feelings’ for the previous boss and practically try and jump the new boss’s bones to show him her worth in other areas outside of work. A part of me did feel a tad smug knowing that I had him in bed before her but that was a small, petty side of me that I didn’t want to give away to.

Nate went for the darker route, where Daemon actually killed her and he’s angry that someone is questioning him about his victim, the other two jokingly joined in with their own cliche lines about why he would of decided to kill someone who he seemed to have barely even known - Thomas joking about that being the reason, Tyler commenting about his anger once again probably being the reason while Nate went for the classic sexual gratification. And unfortunately, it did make sense to me that it could happen. Daemon did mention that her actions would put her in danger and the odd sounds I heard in the parking lot came to mind, as well as the fact Dae’s old car smelled horrendous after the sounds occurred but I didn’t mention those things. I didn’t want to explain that I had been living with the boss.

Out of the three, I personally subscribed to Thomas’s theory as I couldn’t see my roommate as a murderer and I couldn’t bare the thought of him wanting someone else no matter how selfish it may seem. I just didn’t want to lose him in any way.

Soon lunch was over and the daily grind hit us once again. Thomas seemed to be flooded with work while I barely had any once again. It didn’t take a genius to work out that a higher up was meddling with things so I didn’t need to work and exhaust myself but I wasn’t going to let him shift that exhaustion over to Thomas. With a kind smile I ask Thomas to send me half of his work load and we spent the rest of the work day as a team to get everything done so he wouldn’t have to worry about overtime. It was about half an hour before we were set to leave for the day when I got a message from Daemon saying that he wanted me to meet him by his car in the parking lot when it was time for me to leave, I sent him an ‘okay’ before finishing up on the last of my half of the shared load, sending it back to Thomas so he could organise it the way he would.

Luckily, nothing creepy happened this time as I made my way through the parking lot so I could focus on finding and chatting with Daemon who was happy to show his expensive toy off, as if it was going to impress me. “Your friends are something else…” Daemon muttered as we walked through the door to our apartment, I started to slip my coat off only for him to help me and hang it up. I ask him what he means by that as I slip my heels off, my poor feet crying in realief once they were off. “I mean I’m not used to such calm and happy people, most people I’ve dealt with at work are cranky and look like they’re going to kill someone.”  _ Explains you.  _ Dae sends me a smile. “That’s why I like coming home to you.” I raised an eyebrow as he made his way over, his hands automatically taking their place on my hips. “The woman I love.” Cue the insane blushing and giggling. I squeak out a response just a moment before his lips pressed against mine, tingles flying across my body as our kiss quickly deepened.

Pulling away for oxygen was difficult as his insistent lips kept capturing mine with each attempt, it felt as if he was scared to stop kissing me. When I did pull away, I rested my head against his chest, that familiar purring sound following soon after. I flashed him a grin as I felt his hands run through my hair but it just as quickly left my face as I noticed the far off look in his eyes. “Everything alright?” I ask softly, he nodded distractedly in reply and began to lower his lips towards mine before I placed my hand up, blocking his advances. “Not so fast, Romeo. What’s up?” He tried to say nothing was wrong but I told him that I was being serious and practically forced him to sit down on the couch. I asked him once more before he gave in and answered.

“Wilford wants to meet the woman who has captured my attention for over a year now. I’m worried because he’s extremely eccentric and a known womaniser and I fear, despite his wife calming that side of him down that a beautiful woman like yourself would just make him relapse.” Daemon admitted, grabbing me and pulling me onto his lap, his nose gently brushing against my cheek as if he was asking permission to get close to me. With a nuzzle of my nose against his, I let him know that I wasn’t going to let Wilford steal me away, I loved him and not a man I never met. A pleased growl slipped through his lips and with a quick yank, he pulled me under him. “Good, because otherwise I’d have to lock you in my room with me until I was your favourite again~” With a purr, his lips began to attack my neck, teeth running over that bite mark and sinking in once again, sending jolts of what felt like electricity coursing through my veins. 

**Knock, knock, knock!** Went the door which quickly received death glares from the man in front of me. A giggle slipped out of me as I made my way to the door, pulling it open to greet whoever was there only to pause as I noticed the pastel colours the man wore and the bright pink curled moustache on his top lip but what I really noticed was the heavily pregnant woman that I didn’t expect to see anytime soon as I had basically cut contact with so I didn’t break down in front of her. I was frozen in place as a sad smile raised on her face. 

 

“Hey… best friend…”


	8. The Friend

Shock. Chilling and tear inducing shock. It made my stomach drop.  _ She couldn’t be here, how is she here?  _ My thoughts spiraled out of control as my body gave me no choice but to run away, into the haven that was my room. It chose flight.It almost always chooses flight. Daemon called my name but I didn’t listen, a lover’s embrace wasn’t going to calm me, his voice wasn’t going to calm me. I could hear knocking on the locked door as I yanked a warm, soft blanket from the bottom of the bed and slid under the nook that was under my king bed, the dark had a lovely comforting nature about it. Much better than a hug. My thoughts were still racing but I tried my hardest to calm down, control my breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth, counting the seconds it took. Just like someone had once taught me. I couldn’t remember if it was Arthur or the therapist.

Tears only slowed down once my breathing became controlled, my thoughts were still quite frantic. I could just about hear the people talk outside my room, a slurred voice being the loudest and breaking through the calm that the small dark space had created.  **SLAM!** It practically shook my room as the door bounced off of the wall it was connected to. My ears turned out as I began to hear the slurred voice talk again. Louder than before. His voice reminding me of those people who would put an exclamation mark after everything they typed. I wondered if he could even speak quietly as I watched multiple pairs of feet come into view. 

A sigh sounded out as the feet shuffled around, probably looking for me. “I can hear her thoughts so she hasn’t gone far, probably climbed out the window.” What seemed to be Dae’s voice sounded out, an odd echo following it. My old friend chipped in, reprimanding him for violating privacy. “Oh, please, don’t talk to me about privacy when you used that thing’s narrations to find her. I’m having enough trouble keeping it away as is.” He snarked back before turning away from the bed, I barely blinked as I watched. Cautiously, I pulled the fluffy blanket closer, careful to not make a noise as I wanted a bit more time to myself.  Something that would be ripped from me as soon as I’m spotted. “You’ve known her longer than I, where would she go?” 

Silence filled the room for a solid few minutes before anyone spoke once again. “Leave the room and she’ll come out.” Daemon let out a sound of protest before sighing and taking his leave, the pastel man following behind him.  **Click.** Went the door lock, making me curious and stick my head out of the comfortable hiding place. It must have been an odd sight, a fully grown woman wrapped in a giant fluffy cover peeking out from under a giant bed but with how long we’ve known each other, she’s seen me do weirder things. “Care to get up?” My hair flew out everywhere as I shook my head then rolling back under only to be stopped due to her pulling me out from my position. I complain that she shouldn’t be pulling me when she’s pregnant but she just shrugged it off and continued to pull me up before dropping me on the bed, an annoyed whine left me as the blanket slipped from around me. 

From the corner of my eye I could see the handle of my door turn as someone tried to enter. I wasn’t the only one who noticed as the pregnant woman stormed over to the door, banging on it and telling at the person on the other end to knock it off. Muffled whimpers sounded out shortly afterwards. I question her about it but only receive a roll of her eyes as she muttered under her breath. It became obvious that the pastel man didn’t like being away from her, even if it was separate rooms. “Pregnant, huh?” I ask softly, the need to reconnect with my best friend and the only human connection to Arthur overcoming my panicked state. The sweet woman before me threw me a small smile before taking a seat next to me. 

“Yeah, I was surprised too. We’d been trying for a small while and had almost given up hope. God, I look like a whale!” My friend jokingly exclaimed, her attention being dragged over to someone’s muffled shouting. “I know you think I’m beautiful, Wilford! You always think I’m beautiful!” A blushing giggle slipped by and then her attention was back on me. “I’ve missed you, you know. So much so that when I found out that you were at the carnival, I almost went to hunt you down and give you a hug. But, Wil stopped me. Wanted me to rest. You still haven’t explained why you dropped contact, y’know.” With a shaky sigh, I reiterated the reason I gave her last time we spoke about it, that she wouldn’t believe me. How could I tell her that a demon tried to kill me the last time I was at her old place. I could barely look at her as I spoke. I flinched as I heard a disappointed sigh left her. “It doesn’t matter now, we’re speaking again. But, hopefully you’ll eventually tell me.” Glancing up, I can see her smile hopefully at me, causing my own smile to curl at my lips.

Tears began to gather in my eyes, stinging the corners as I mumble an apology, barely able to speak as we pulled each other into a hug. Quiet sobs and gentle words of comfort, promises to repair our friendship left both of us as we sat there, tears staining our faces. Barely noticing as our respective partners crept into the room and pulled us against them. I could feel Daemon run his fingers of one hand through my hair, while the other carefully rubbed the tears away from my eyes, his cool skin even more noticeable against my now heated skin. At some point the room fell quiet, Dae’s cold hand rested gently against my eyes as I listened intently to the sound of his steady heart beat. It took a little bit for Daemon to ask the other couple to leave, claiming that we needed a bit of time alone. Although all that happened once we were alone was just us lying down, facing each other, Dae gently stroking the side of my face as he tried to coax me to sleep. My heavy stinging eyes didn’t give me much of a chance to argue. 

Arguing was not a pleasant sound to wake up to, but that was my reality. I let out a low groan before glaring at the shut door that hid the arguing people behind it. Quietly, I made my way over to the door, the muffled voices got louder to where I could almost clearly hear Wilford and Daemon’s practical screaming match. The anger from the pair could be felt even in my room and the intensity of my lover’s voice made my shiver. “SHE DOESN’T NEED TO FUCKING KNOW!!! SHE’D FREAK OUT AND RUN AWAY FROM ME IF SHE DID, AND WHY IS THAT WILFORD?! OH, BECAUSE OF YOU!!!” A small scared whimper left my lips, but it was quickly muffled by my hands covering my mouth. I doubted that they’d hear me over their shouting but I couldn’t bring myself to risk it anyway.

“SHE DOES NEED TO KNOW!!! YOUR HEAT IS ANY MONTH NOW OR DID YOU FORGET?! I KNOW I MADE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU BUT BLOODY HELL…!!! OLD CHAP, SHE DESERVES TO KNOW!!” My friend’s voice could just about be heard in the background, agreeing with her husband, but also telling him off about whatever they were talking about. The sheer volume of their voices gave me a headache and caused me to back away from the door, my feet accidentally putting pressure on a squeaky floor board. I cursed at myself quietly before focusing on what they were saying once again. “She’s awake… Listen, you go cool off. I’ll… I need to get to know her. Sugar, please…”  Mumbled words followed before Wilford slowly opened my door, his eyes locking on me as soon as he stepped in. “Sorry about that, Dar- Daemon and I tend to get a bit heated during our arguments, and not in the fun way.” He jokes while making his way over, his moustache becoming crooked as he throws me a wonky smile. “I was wondering if we could head out into the city together, get to know each other considering you’re friends with my wife and I’m friends with your partner.” Solid reasoning but the earlier arguing made me hesitate, my eyes falling down to simply look at his now outstretched hand that patiently waited for me to take it. 

Nervousness must have been evident on my face as he began to back track, frantically stating that I didn’t need to go out on a trip with him or anything, he just thought it was a pleasant enough of an idea. Within seconds I went from nervous to feeling guilty.  _ He just wants to make friends.  _ With that thought, I reached out and accepted his hand. Shaking it gently and introducing myself properly, smiling as the pastel dressed man began to beam back at me. Wilford’s smiles were surprisingly contagious as my smile grew. Without much talking, we made out way out of the apartment and into the city, eventually discussing about where we should go and get coffee. 

We stopped at a random coffee shop, it was small and without many customers, most people were flocking around the local chain of an overpriced coffee company. But the staff of the smaller place didn’t seem to mind. I could only imagine the stories of rude and entitled people that they were able to avoid thanks to the fact a chain location was near by. The quiet meant that Wilford and I didn’t have any struggle hearing each other and our conversations were smooth sailing, only being interrupted to sip on the bitter liquid in our cups. “So, yeah, I annoyed Dae a lot when we lived together. Even to the point where he told me I couldn’t go to a certain part of the house because that was, and I quote. ‘His side.’ Needless to say I constantly was on that side of the house.” Wilford rambled on, only just finishing an explanation of how Daemon and him met which was quickly derailed into how close they are as friends, which then derailed into how they lived together at one point. “I’m sorry, I just realised how I haven’t given you a chance to talk. Sugar says that’s a habit of mine but I like talking about myself so…” His words drifted off as his attention focused on his cup. “When did I run out of coffee? I swear I just got this.” In fact, he got it about an hour ago and I made sure to tell him such. “Ah… I was talking for that long, huh? Sorry. I’ll go get another and give your ears a rest. Be right back.” I chuckled as he skipped over to the counter and ordered what was his fifth cup, he really did like talking about himself. About a cup per constantly derailed topic. I didn’t mind. I could see why my friend had fallen from him, she did have a thing about quirky, confident guys and he seemed sweet enough. 

A content sigh left my lips, any fears of Wilford being bad for my friend slipped from my mind. Granted, I wasn’t one that should have been a judge of what was good for her considering I had avoided talking to her for over a year but she was still my friend and I wanted nothing but the best for her. But from how he described her, spoke about what it was like to live with her and their married life from one of the derailed topics, it was blatantly obvious that he was completely and utterly smitten with her. I leaned back into my chair and wondered if Daemon saw me the same way, probably not as we weren’t together that long but it was still a nice thought. As I began to get lost in thoughts of someday being married with a family of my own, my eyes wandered so their gaze fell onto the street outside. The morning rush had long since passed and the street had quietened down now that the large crowd at the other coffee shop had dispersed and left but the street was still relatively busy. My gaze swept across the still pavement, barely soaking in the faces that blurred into the blob of passers by. 

The pedestrians seemed to look a lot alike, the same monotonous colours and tired faces, common and boring. Blacks, whites and greys and various shades of beige and brown passed by, but if you focused enough, you’d see the pops of colour and personality that was hidden amongst the flat colours and clothes. Be it makeup, hair or accessories, people tried to make the dull uniform of business their own. But something else caught my eye more than that, gold against black and dirty white against tan, finished off with a long brown trench coat. I sat up, my attention solely on the bandaged man, who seemed to be in a heated conversation with the doctor that saw to me back at the hospital. Anyone who paid enough attention could see the frustration radiate off of both of them, the frown lines that were etched deeply onto the man’s face. You could even see the bandages around his eyes be warped by how heavily he must have been furrowing his brows. The tapping of a disposable cup against a table ripped my attention away as I noticed Wilford sit down, a rather annoyed look on his face. I ask if he’s okay but he just sends a small but hard glare towards another table that seemed to have a group of college girls who were making bedroom eyes at the married man. 

I repeat the question only for him to huff and cross his arms. “One of them walked over, tried to flirt and groped my ass… Tried to steal my phone too. Apparently, saying ‘No, I’m married.’ means nothing to some people. Why is is that now that I’m being faithful and I’m married, even more people want to sleep with me…?” The moustached man groaned slightly as he slid down his seat slightly, trying to ignore the attention seeking actions that the younger girls did, even placing a hand by the side of his face to hide it from the group. It continued for at least five more minutes before I pulled the man from his seat and yanked him out of there, my patience being more than tried at that point. The cool air quickly worked to calm my rising temper as I watched Wilford lean against the brick wall separating the cafe from the neighbouring shop. I used the moment of silence between us to gaze over to the bandaged man and the doctor still having their quiet argument. A few more moments went by before the female stormed off and the bandaged man leaned against the building he was standing in front off, his hands rubbing against his covered face. I turned to face Wilford who was now busy with his phone, fingers tapping across the screen quickly and a wide smile and a deep blush on his face, making it obvious who he was texting. 

Using the distraction, I made my way over to the bandaged man, gently saying hi to him. “Oh, hello… Glad to see you again.” He threw a smile my way, his words warm and tinted with cheekiness because of his little joke. I let him know that I’m glad to see him too and ask how he is. “Better than usual, then again I’m seeing the love of my life a lot more often than usual so I guess that’s to be expected.” His toothy smile widened as his words slipped passed his lips. I make a sound to let him know I heard him but his words confused me, I had just seen him get an argument but here he was, talking about the fact he was happy about seeing someone he loved. Context clues from the hospital made it seem as if it was the female doctor that he was talking about but they were just fighting, so it made that theory seem unlikely. Before I could ask, I felt a hand wrap around my arm and tug me away, Wilford chirping out that his wonderful wife needed to ask me something and that my boyfriend was being a hard ass. I could barely look back to see the guy slipping off into an alleyway before the crowd of passers by began too much. 

Tripping over the threshold between the apartment and the hallway, I noticed my friend pouting at Daemon and Daemon trying his hardest to ignore her attempts to do something. Wilford gave no clues as to what as he practically threw me towards the pair while announcing our arrival. I just had enough time to let out a sound of protest before hands were on my shoulders and pulled me up and forward. My friend beamed at me, the mischievous look in her eye told me she was going to use my hold on Daemond for something. “Can Wilford and I live here for a bit?” I barely squeaked out a ‘sure’ before Daemon was groaning and she was throwing a victorious smile his way. “It’s only until I give birth. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to be living in our RV when I’m about to pop.” She explained and I just brushed it off, muttering something about it being a good excuse to spend some time together as my eyes locked onto Daemon’s dark glaring ones. I should have guessed that was what he was being hard-assed about.  _ Looks like sex will have to be put on hold for a bit.  _ My thoughts joked before I watched Dae cringe silently to himself.

 

_ This shouldn’t go too badly, right? _


End file.
